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5 Jun 2026, 18:10
THORChain restart drags on as Zcash vulnerability delays privacy-coin rollout
THORChain has remained offline for three weeks since it experienced a $10.7 million vault exploit. THORChain initially planned to integrate ZEC support into its platform, but even that is now delayed after a critical flaw was discovered in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool. That decision could not have come at a worse time for ZEC, which has taken a beating since the AI–discovered vulnerability was revealed. What happened to THORChain and when will it restart? THORChain has been offline for three weeks following a major security breach that resulted in the loss of $10.7 million from one of its vaults. The problem at THORChain started with a flaw in a security system called the GG20 threshold signature scheme. An attacker was able to join the network as a node operator and exploit this weakness to drain funds from a single vault. The other four vaults were not affected. THORChain’s developers released a fix (version 3.19) several days ago, but the network is yet to resume normal operations. The team even added a new safety step called “key verify” to ensure every remaining vault is secure before operations resume. The restarting process will include node operators moving to the new software version, migrating funds, and finally reopening trading. Barraford estimated that this process will take several days to complete once it begins. The recovery plan, called ADR028, aims to cover the $10.7 million loss without creating new RUNE tokens or diluting existing holders. Instead, the protocol’s own money will be used, and any remaining loss will be shared with synthetic asset holders. The protocol is also offering the hacker a bounty to return the funds. What was the Zcash bug, and why did it cause such a big price drop? Zcash was supposed to be THORChain’s next chain integration, ahead of Monero, but that timeline slipped after security researcher Taylor Hornby, working under contract with Shielded Labs, discovered a soundness bug in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool. The bug has been present in the Orchard protocol “rulebook” since it launched in May 2022. Hornby used Anthropic’s Opus 4.8 model to create a working example of the exploit in a test environment and confirmed it could produce fake tokens in a local test environment. An emergency soft fork quickly temporarily disabled Orchard transactions on June 2, and a hard fork (NU6.2) reactivated the pool with a corrected circuit on June 3. The five-day turnaround from discovery to resolution was only the second security-driven protocol upgrade in Zcash’s ten-year history. When the bug was disclosed, ZEC dropped roughly 40% within 24 hours. CoinMarketCap data showed the token trading near $333, down from a 52-week high above $700. Arthur Hayes, the chief investment officer at Maelstrom and co-founder of BitMEX, said on X that he liquidated his entire ZEC position. Hayes previously set a public price target of 10% of Bitcoin’s value for ZEC, but the 30% drop forced him to rethink. He left open the possibility of buying back the tokens if his concerns about supply integrity proved unfounded. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham flagged at least one large holder who watched more than half the value of a $174 million ZEC position evaporate without selling. Shielded Labs, the organization that fixed the bug, explained that it is cryptographically impossible to determine whether or not the bug was ever used due to the four-year window before it was found, but the firm also stated that it is unlikely the bug could have evaded years of expert review if it was active. Just discovering the vulnerability required AI-assisted auditing techniques, and the remediation window was narrow once the flaw became known. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
5 Jun 2026, 18:02
AI exposed a massive flaw in top crypto network and experts warn banks could be next
After an AI model helped uncover a four-year-old flaw in Zcash, security researchers warn that similar bugs may be hiding across crypto and traditional financial systems.
5 Jun 2026, 16:15
Bitcoin Dives Below $60K Following Strong Jobs Data, Zcash Crash Shaking Crypto Confidence
Bitcoin has now fallen more than 50% from its October peak, dipping below $60,000 as the crypto industry reckons with the Zcash vulnerability.
5 Jun 2026, 13:20
DTXT/USDT Pair on BNB Chain Exploited for $35,000 in Smart Contract Attack
BitcoinWorld DTXT/USDT Pair on BNB Chain Exploited for $35,000 in Smart Contract Attack A security breach on the BNB Chain has resulted in the loss of approximately $35,041 from the DTXT/USDT liquidity pool, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. The incident, which targeted a vulnerability in the DTXT token contract, highlights ongoing risks within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, particularly those involving complex smart contract logic. How the Exploit Worked PeckShield’s analysis reveals that the core of the exploit lay in a flawed mechanism within the DTXT contract. The contract determined the type of transaction—whether a swap or a liquidity addition—by comparing its own USDT balance with the amount of USDT deposited into the trading pair. The attacker exploited this by sending a small amount of USDT directly to the trading pair’s contract address. This manipulation caused a large sell order of DTXT tokens to be misidentified as a liquidity addition, effectively bypassing the transaction fee logic that would normally apply to a sell order. To execute the attack, the exploiter took out a flash loan of 1,077,400 USDT from the Moolah lending protocol. This capital was used to manipulate the pool’s state and execute the profitable trade, netting a profit of roughly 35,000 USDT. Flash loans, which allow borrowing without collateral provided the funds are returned within a single transaction block, are a common tool in DeFi exploits. Implications for DeFi Security This incident serves as a technical case study in how subtle logical errors in smart contracts can be weaponized. The vulnerability was not in the core trading logic of the decentralized exchange itself, but in the DTXT token’s custom contract code. This underscores a critical point for developers: custom token integrations, especially those with non-standard logic for handling fees or balance checks, require rigorous auditing and testing. What Users Should Know For liquidity providers in the DTXT/USDT pool, this event directly resulted in a loss of funds. It is a stark reminder that impermanent loss is not the only risk in DeFi; smart contract risk is ever-present. Users are advised to verify the audit history and code quality of any token project before providing liquidity. The use of flash loans in this attack also reinforces the need for protocols to design systems that are resilient to such capital-intensive manipulation. Conclusion The $35,000 exploit of the DTXT/USDT pool on BNB Chain is a clear example of how a single flawed line of logic in a token contract can lead to significant financial loss. While the sum is relatively small compared to multi-million dollar hacks, the technical method used is instructive for the broader DeFi community. As PeckShield continues to monitor the situation, the incident adds to the growing list of attacks that exploit the gap between intended contract behavior and actual execution. FAQs Q1: What exactly was the vulnerability in the DTXT contract? The contract used a flawed method to determine transaction types by comparing its USDT balance with the pool’s deposits. This allowed an attacker to trick the system into treating a large sell order as a liquidity addition, bypassing sell fees. Q2: How did the attacker profit from this exploit? The attacker used a flash loan of over 1 million USDT from Moolah to manipulate the pool’s state. By exploiting the logic flaw, they executed a trade that netted them a profit of approximately 35,000 USDT. Q3: Are funds safe on BNB Chain after this incident? This was a specific attack on the DTXT token contract, not a vulnerability in the BNB Chain itself. The chain remains secure, but users should exercise caution with any token that has custom or unaudited smart contract logic. This post DTXT/USDT Pair on BNB Chain Exploited for $35,000 in Smart Contract Attack first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
5 Jun 2026, 12:49
Morning Minute: Massive ZCash Exploit Found by Claude, Extent Unknown
The ZCash team hired a hacker to find an exploit in the ZCash protocol, and he exposed a glitch that has been out there for four years.
5 Jun 2026, 12:46
Will Zcash (ZEC) price crash below $100 dollars in 2026?
As Zcash ( ZEC ) price plunged over 40% over the past two days, the fear of a potential crash below $100 remained palpable. As of June 5, prediction market traders set the likelihood of the ZEC price crashing to $100 in 2026 at 28%, down 19% over the last 24 hours, according to data from Polymarket , as analyzed by Finbold. As of press time, the contract on the ZEC price hitting $100 in 2026 had a trading volume of $20,508. Contract for Zcash 2026 prediction. Source: Polymarket Additionally, prediction market traders believe the odds of Zcash’s price falling further to $50 before the end of this year are 19%, down 31% over the past 24 hours. Notably, the contract for the ZEC price to reach $50 in 2026 had a trading volume of approximately $10,101. Meanwhile, Polymarket traders believe there is a 22% and 18% chance that the Zcash price will surge to $700 and $800, respectively, by the end of 2026. Why are traders bearish on Zcash price in 2026? Crypto traders see the odds of Zcash’s price crashing below $100 in 2026 following the discovery of a bug that could have been used to create undetectable ZEC counterfeit. Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox said security researcher Taylor Hornby discovered a critical counterfeiting vulnerability in Zcash’s Orchard pool on May 29. However, the Zcash Open Development Lab coordinated an emergency response that was completed on June 2. Nonetheless, given that the bug had existed from 2022 until it was recently discovered, ZEC holders fear it may have been compromised to print more tokens. ZEC/USD 30-day chart. Source: Finbold With the ZEC price struggling to rally above $680 over the past 30 days, its near-term bearish sentiment has surged. Furthermore, the token has confirmed a possible head-and-shoulders pattern following its recent capitulation. The post Will Zcash (ZEC) price crash below $100 dollars in 2026? appeared first on Finbold .
