BNB slumps following $100M exploit of Binance Smart Chain

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Binance Smart Chain is the latest blockchain platform to suffer exploitation as illicit actors reportedly carted away millions of dollars from the network with ties to the world’s largest crypto exchange.

In detail, transactions on BNB Chain were halted for hours after a potential exploit in the network was detected through a surge in “irregular activity.” A Twitter user who initially identified the breach said roughly two million BNB ($566 million) was stolen from the chain.

Consequently, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed the exploit. He, however, noted that the current impact of the breach is around $100 million. CZ noted that the breach has been contained, adding “Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly.”

“Due to irregular activity we’re temporarily pausing BSC. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates here. […] To confirm, we have suspended Binance Smart Chain after having determined a potential exploit. All systems are now contained, and we are immediately investigating the potential vulnerability.”

BNB Chain tweeted.

Notably, at the time of publication Binance Smart Chain was back in operation. Binance Smart Chain is composed of BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain (BSC). Blockchain security firm SlowMist, indicated that digital assets stolen include Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

‘The Exploit Had The Potential Of Being The Biggest Hack Of All Time’

Meanwhile, BNB Chain has expressed gratitude for the assistance received from community members. Through its official Twitter handle, Binance thanked node service providers for their support, quick and attentive response.

Reacting to the hack, the crypto community has applauded Binance’s way of handling the situation. A Twitter user further posited that the could have been worse if it wasn’t handled properly. He said, “this hack had the potential to be either the first or second biggest hack of all time.”

“I’ve seen countless projects over the years suffering exploits. The ownership, transparency and speed of technical response has been second to none. Hats off  to your team + the community node operators + devs🧢.”

@xenzor1 said.

“So $BNB just suffered a massive exploit that would have crippled 99% of projects and it only dropped 5% while currently hovering at -2.5%. yeah… i don’t think betting against @cz_binance and @binance is a good idea.”

BNB Price Plunges Following Hack

The price of BNB was down as the market reacts to news of the shocking exploit suffered by the BNB Chain.

BNB’s price at the time of publication was almost 4% and trading around $283, according to data from Coingecko.