Bittensor

UwU Lend

ZachXBT

Bittensor was forced to halt its network activity on July 3 following a series of wallet drains that stole at least $8 million worth of digital assets.
The network outage aiming to contain the exploit was announced by Ala Shaabana, the co-founder of Bittensor, in a July 3 X <a href="https://x.com/shibshib89/status/1808306071263760612" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">post</a>:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “By way of an update, we have contained the attack and put the chain into safe mode (blocks producing but no transactions are permitted). We’re still mid-investigation and are considering all possibilities.” 
</blockquote>
Hacks and exploits remain among the most pressing concerns for the crypto space, delaying mass adoption. In the past 13 years, the crypto industry <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-hacks-19-billion-13-years">suffered nearly $19 billion worth of thefts</a>, with&nbsp;785 reported crypto hacks.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uwu-lend-hack-20-million">UwU Lend hit by $20M crypto hack</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="attacker-steals-at-least-8-million-worth-of-tao-via-potential-private-key-leak">Attacker steals at least $8 million worth of TAO via potential private key leak</h2>
The theft was first discovered by pseudonymous onchain investigator ZachXBT in a July 3 Telegram message. He wrote:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Bittensor was halted due to additional thefts earlier today potentially as a result of private key leakage.”
</blockquote>
The unknown address “5FbW” was exploited to obtain 32,000 Bittensor (TAO) tokens worth approximately $8 million.
This latest attack comes a month after a different wallet was drained for $11.2 million worth of TAO tokens on June 1, according to ZachXBT.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/76db68b5-024e-4410-ba57-f798f65eb4b6.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 TAO $11 million wallet drain. Source: ZachXBT
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coingecko-confirms-email-provider-data-breach">CoinGecko confirms email provider data breach, over 23,000 phishing emails sent</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="private-key-leaks-surpass-smart-contract-thefts">Private key leaks surpass smart contract thefts</h2>
While smart contract vulnerabilities previously accounted for the lion’s share of hacked funds, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-hacks-2024-private-key-leaks">private key leaks have surpassed</a> smart contract-related attacks.
Over 55% of the hacked digital assets were lost to private key leaks during 2023, <a href="https://info.merklescience.com/hackhub-report-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to Merkle Science’s “2024 Crypto HackHub Report” report.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/73489b7d-a257-440c-8dd5-5a54d725a127.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Crypto total losses by vulnerabilities. Source: Merkle Science
 </figcaption>
</figure>
This is partly because hackers are vying for easier targets, according to Mriganka Pattnaik, co-founder and CEO of crypto risk and intelligence platform Merkle Science.
Pattnaik told Cointelegraph:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “While smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern, hackers increasingly target areas outside smart contracts, like private key leaks. These leaks, often due to phishing attacks or insecure storage practices, have led to significant losses.”
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, hacked funds lost to smart contract vulnerabilities fell 92% to $179 million in 2023, down from a staggering $2.6 billion in 2022.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/vaneck-files-for-solana-etf-ether-supply-inflates-hodlers-digest-june-23-29/">VanEck files for Solana ETF, Ether supply inflates, and more: Hodler’s Digest, June 23–29</a>

$8M theft forces Bittensor network shutdown

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