Balancer website hijack puts users at risk

Balancer’s user interface woes follow an exploit last month targeting its liquidity pools

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Vladimir Kazakov/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

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DeFi liquidity protocol Balancer is staring down yet another security vulnerability, this time targeting its user interface. 

The platform issued a notice on social media Tuesday evening, urging users not to interact with the main Balancer UI until further notice as they investigate. Investors and users of Balancer are advised to remain vigilant and await further updates.

Crypto sleuth ZachXBT, revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that the stolen funds are being funneled into a specific Ethereum address. Approximately $238,000 has reportedly been pilfered so far. 

Analysis of the address shows it currently holds 68 ether (ETH) valued at more than $111,000, based on the current ETH price of $1,636.

In the last eight hours, a series of ERC-20 token transfers involving the address labeled “Balancer Attacker” can be viewed from Etherscan, a popular analytics tool. 

Tokens, including Balancer’s native BAL token, liquid staked ether, Aave’s wrapped tokens, and several others, have so far been transferred in and out of the address.

The developments Wednesday follow a series of assaults against the protocol in recent weeks including an exploit of a critical vulnerability in its v2 pools late last month.

Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Balancer functions as both an automated market maker and a liquidity protocol, allowing users to trade tokens directly from its liquidity pools, without the need for a traditional order book.

In recent hours, Balancer’s native token (BAL) has experienced some volatility, though the full extent of the financial fallout remains to be seen. BAL is down 3.2% on the day from a top of $3.44 to $3.27, exchange data shows.

Balancer is not the first DeFi platform to fall victim to a cyber-attack this year. There has been a noticeable uptick in security breaches targeting DeFi projects in recent months, leading to a broader conversation in the industry about the need for enhanced security measures.

The Balancer team said it is currently investigating the issue, and it’s yet unclear how the attackers managed to exploit the system. Blockworks has reached out to learn more.


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With the recent election, it’s clear that there will be a meaningful shift in crypto regulations and legislation. Trump is likely as pro-crypto as a president can be. He launched (multiple) of his own NFT collections and is launching an Aave wrapper called World Liberty Fi. He has also spoken out and mentioned that he wants to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet" and transform it into the "Bitcoin superpower of the world". He proposed creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile alongside support from Senator Cynthia Lummis, promising to retain 100% of all Bitcoin held by the U.S. government. More importantly, we’re likely to see deregulation across the board in a lot of industries, with crypto being one of them - as Trump has committed to keeping the crypto market largely unregulated. Crypto, DeFi in particular, has historically been knee-capped by overreaching and hostile governmental agencies and regulation by enforcement, as evidenced by the plethora of Wells notices and lawsuits over the past few years. With Donald Trump winning the presidency, Republicans taking control of the Senate, and being on the verge of securing the House, we think it’s likely that crypto realizes positive regulatory clarity. Below, you can find our analysts’ takes:

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