Arbitrum

USDC

Optimism

Gelato

Coin

The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Pike has clarified its previous statement regarding a vulnerability found in USDC Coin (USDC). The clarification comes after the platform experienced a $1.6 million exploit on April 30.
On May 1, Pike <a href="https://twitter.com/PikeFinance/status/1785572875124330644" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">published</a> an announcement saying that the exploit was related to a vulnerability on USDC and that USDC’s product offerings had nothing to do with the security lapse that the network suffered.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “This exploit is related to the initial USDC vulnerability that was reported last week on the 26th of April.”
</blockquote>
However, the DeFi protocol quickly retracted the statement, explaining that the phrase they used did not accurately describe the exploit that transpired.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true"><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-05/ba0dda74-1153-47a7-b51a-a08d49c56ebf.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/PikeFinance/status/1785708269258019074" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Pike Finance</a> 
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Pike highlighted that the exploit was caused by lapses in its security measures in its contract functions when handling transfers with the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-launches-cross-chain-usdc-transfer-protocol-for-ethereum-avalanche" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP)</a>, a service provided by USDC-issuer Circle.
Pike clarified that the root cause of the exploit is unrelated to the functionality of Circle’s product offerings.
In a previous announcement, Pike Finance <a href="https://mirror.xyz/pikefinance.eth/M1ToE42vwEHuE6xlz0dVRQwPT0xpaRtpIIw2arOdBAM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> that its auditing partner had already discovered the vulnerability that caused the first hack on April 26, but their team could not address it. They wrote:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “It is important to clarify that this vulnerability was previously identified by our auditing partner, OtterSec. Our developer team was unable to address the identified vulnerability in a timely manner.”
</blockquote>
Pike noted that the exploit resulted from their team’s “improper integration” of third-party technologies like the CCTP or Gelato Network’s automation services.
The initial attack led to the theft of $300,000 worth of digital assets.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/april-25m-exploits-scams-historical-low-certik" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">April sees $25M in exploits and scams, marking historic low ― CertiK</a>
On April 30, an attacker <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/pike-finance-exploited-1-6-million-second-exploit-3-days" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">used a vulnerability</a> in the protocol’s smart contract to drain about $1.68 million across Ethereum, Arbitrum and Optimism. In total, the attacker took $1.4 million in Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETH</a>), $150,000 in Optimism (OP) and about $100,000 in Arbitrum (ARB) tokens.
Pike recognized that both attacks were due to the same smart contract vulnerability. The protocol said that the misalignment in the contract eventually allowed the attackers to bypass admin access and withdraw funds.
Even though hacks still plague the crypto space, data shows that losses in crypto-related hacks showed a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-hacks-april-fall-67-60-million" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sharp decline in April</a> compared to February and March.
On May 1, PeckShield reported that losses from hacks in April dropped to $60 million, a steep jump from February’s $360.8 million and March’s $187.6 million.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/web3-gaming-term-crypto-pitch-australia-crypto-con-web3-gamer/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Web3 gaming won’t exist in 5 years, $656K for best crypto game pitch: Web3 Gamer</a>

Pike Finance clarifies ‘USDC vulnerability’ statement on $1.6M exploit

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on May 2, 2024

Memecoin Watch: BONK Nears Key Resistance – Potential Breakout? PEPE’s Pattern Signals Uptrend

Here’s how the crypto community is propelling memecoins!

Dogecoin Price Prediction: Is DOGE History Poised to Repeat?

Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest in Right Now May 1 – NEAR Protocol, Helium, Polkadot

Bitcoin Tumbles to “No Man’s Land”: Is a Rebound Imminent? Key BTC Trends to Watch

Toncoin’s price recovery: Nabs Pantera Capital investment, Arkham partnership

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!