THORChain’s RUNE Token Plunges Double Digits After $10M Exploit, Buying and selling Halt – Decrypt

THORChain halted buying and selling operations Friday morning after blockchain safety researchers recognized a suspected exploit allegedly affecting greater than $10 million throughout a number of blockchain networks.

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT and safety agency PeckShield traced the suspected breach to 2 predominant addresses—one on Bitcoin and one other on EVM-compatible chains together with Ethereum, BNB Sensible Chain, and Base. The researchers’ evaluation prompted THORChain’s instant defensive response.

The protocol’s crew has not but launched technical particulars concerning the nature of the alleged vulnerability or confirmed the researchers’ loss estimates. THORChain’s native token RUNE is down 10% on the day to commerce at $0.5229, per CoinGecko information.

The suspected exploit occurred throughout a interval of elevated exercise on THORChain. The protocol processed $394 million in each day quantity when hackers allegedly used it to maneuver stolen funds from the KelpDAO breach between Ethereum and Bitcoin networks.

The protocol suspended its ThorFi lending operations in January 2025 amid insolvency allegations, implementing a 90-day restructuring to deal with $200 million in defaulted obligations.

Final September, THORSwap issued a bounty after hackers drained $1.2 million from THORChain founder John-Paul Thorbjornsen’s private pockets, with ZachXBT later attributing the assault to North Korean hackers.

Cross-chain protocols proceed going through subtle assaults as hackers exploit advanced bridging mechanisms. DeFi platform TrustedVolumes misplaced $6.7 million earlier this month, whereas North Korean hackers stole $2.1 billion in cryptocurrency throughout 2025, representing 60% of all crypto theft losses, in accordance with safety agency CertiK.