Haciyev Reşit 
Another security breach has shaken the crypto market. The IoTeX (IOTX) ecosystem was targeted in a bridge infrastructure attack, resulting in the theft of more than $8 million worth of crypto assets. Following the incident, selling pressure quickly increased on the altcoin, while investors grew concerned about the project’s security. After the news spread rapidly on social media, the IoTeX team issued an official statement confirming that the situation had been addressed. On-chain analysis revealed that the attack was not caused by a smart contract vulnerability, but rather by the compromise of a single private key—allowing the attacker to gain critical system-level access and move funds swiftly.
How Did the Attack Happen?
According to blockchain data, the breach began when the externally owned account (EOA) controlling the “TransferValidatorWithPayload” contract was compromised. Once the attacker gained access to this private key, they obtained full control over the TokenSafe and MinterPool contracts, effectively seizing ownership-level authority within the system.
With these elevated permissions, the attacker abused mint and transfer functions to extract significant amounts of assets in a short period of time. Experts emphasized that this was not a complex smart contract exploit but rather a direct compromise of ownership and private key security. The stolen funds were largely converted into Ethereum (ETH) and later bridged to the Bitcoin network via THORChain. Analysts noted that this method—bridging across multiple networks—is commonly used to obscure fund tracking and complicate forensic analysis.
On-chain reports indicate that multiple digital assets were taken, including:
- 2,835 UNI
- 45,825 BUSD
- 85 million IOTX
- 71 PAXG
- 20,158 DAI
- 11 WBTC
- 635 WETH
- 36 million USDC
- 14 million USDT
In addition, the attacker reportedly minted approximately $4 million worth of CIOTX tokens via MinterPool. The total estimated loss exceeds $8 million.
Official Statement from IoTeX
Following the widespread circulation of the news, the IoTeX team released a formal statement confirming that the breach had been contained. The team suggested that some figures circulating online may have been exaggerated and that the actual realized loss could be lower.
They also confirmed that major cryptocurrency exchanges were contacted to help track and potentially freeze the stolen funds. Users were advised to rely only on official communication channels and disregard unverified information.
According to analysts, there was no inherent flaw in the protocol’s core smart contracts. However, the compromise of a single private key enabled a cascading system-wide impact. The loss of ownership authority allowed the attacker to manipulate minting and transfer functions, once again highlighting the critical importance of key management and security in DeFi and bridge infrastructures.
Evaluation
The $8 million hack within the IoTeX ecosystem underscores the fundamental importance of private key security in crypto infrastructure. Even without a smart contract vulnerability, the compromise of one privileged key led to significant financial damage. Moving forward, coordination between the IoTeX team and major exchanges will be crucial in tracking the stolen funds and exploring potential recovery options. The incident serves as another reminder that operational security especially around ownership keys remains one of the most critical layers in decentralized finance systems.
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