THORChain resumes trading 5 weeks after $10.7M exploit

THORChain resumed all network activity on June 23, more than five weeks after a $10.7 million exploit forced the cross-chain decentralized exchange to halt operations.

"The primary goals of this recovery are safety and stability," THORChain said in an announcement, adding that comprehensive verification of the treasury and key shares has been completed.

The protocol implemented multiple security upgrades and a vault migration to fix the vulnerabilities exploited in the May 15 attack. Core functions including signing, node churning, asset custody, liquidity provision and cross-chain exchanges have been fully restored. The exploit was among several bridge-related attacks in the second quarter, with cross-chain bridge exploits accounting for $351 million in stolen value, or more than 38% of all crypto hack losses, according to DefiLlama data. Other notable incidents included the $293 million LayerZero OFT bridge exploit tied to KelpDAO and a $36 million theft from Humanity Protocol on June 8.

The recovery marks a critical step for THORChain, which facilitates cross-chain swaps without wrapped tokens. Its roadmap includes native Monero exchange support, Zcash integration, dynamic fees and deeper liquidity optimization. The broader DeFi sector has seen total value locked decline to about $73 billion from $164 billion before the October 2025 liquidation event, per DefiLlama, as protocols face mounting pressure to strengthen security. Dmytro Tarasiuk, product director at risk intelligence platform CORE3, said the industry's most pressing vulnerability remains that protocols are re-engineered faster than their underlying risk management complexity, often leading to operational vulnerabilities such as storing multiple multisig keys on a single laptop.

Other cross-chain protocols have faced similar headwinds. Axelar's native token AXL traded at $0.045, down 98% from its 2024 peak, while Secret Network's SCRT changed hands at $0.058, off 99% from its 2021 all-time high, according to CoinGecko data. Neither protocol was compromised in the THORChain incident, but the sector-wide pressure on interoperability platforms has intensified as users scrutinize bridge security. For THORChain, the resumption could restore confidence among liquidity providers who withdrew funds during the suspension, though the exploit's memory may keep some users cautious in the near term.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.