Balancer Suffers $116M Hack, Highlighting Trust Issues in DeFi

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Balancer Suffers $116M Hack, Highlighting Trust Issues in DeFi

Bitget-RWA2025/11/04 07:44

By:Bitget-RWA

- Balancer Protocol suffered a $116.6M exploit on November 3, 2025, marking one of DeFi’s largest breaches. - Attackers exploited boosted pools’ vulnerabilities, draining liquidity across multiple blockchains within 30 minutes. - Forked projects like Beets also lost funds, triggering panic withdrawals and renewed debates over DeFi security gaps. - PeckShield urged users to revoke approvals, while Lido and Aave confirmed core operations remained unaffected. - The incident exposed systemic risks in complex p

On November 3, 2025, the DeFi sector was rocked by a major incident as

Balancer

Protocol suffered one of the most significant hacks in decentralized finance to date. More than $116.6 million in digital assets were stolen from the platform across several blockchains, serving as a stark illustration of ongoing security weaknesses in the industry despite increased oversight and technological improvements, as noted in a

TradingView report

. The breach began around 9:12 AM, with the attacker extracting 6,587 WETH (worth $24.46 million), 6,851 osETH (valued at $26.86 million), and 4,259 wstETH (totaling $19.27 million) from Balancer’s reserves, according to a

Yahoo Finance article

. Blockchain analytics company Lookonchain revealed that within just half an hour, the total amount stolen exceeded $116 million.

The attacker exploited a major flaw in Balancer’s boosted pools, which are based on Ether derivatives, enabling them to bypass access controls and withdraw liquidity, per TradingView’s findings. The pilfered funds were swiftly transferred to a single wallet address, 0x506D19...AE03207, and then dispersed to various wallets to hinder tracking. By the time the breach was made public, the hacker’s DeBank account still held about $95 million, with another $21 million already moved elsewhere.

Balancer Suffers $116M Hack, Highlighting Trust Issues in DeFi image 0

The impact extended beyond Balancer, as forked projects such as Beets on the

Sonic

network also reported losses, highlighting how interconnected DeFi platforms are. The event triggered a wave of withdrawals, including a $6.5 million removal from an inactive whale wallet (0x0090) associated with Balancer pools. Leading DeFi protocols like Lido and

Aave

released statements to calm their communities. Lido clarified that while some Balancer V2 pools were affected, its main operations and user assets were safe, and Aave stated that its unique Balancer V2 integration was not impacted.

PeckShield, a blockchain security company, advised users to revoke any Balancer-related permissions and keep an eye on their wallet activity. Meanwhile, Balancer’s developers confirmed the exploit but did not share specifics about the underlying vulnerability. The incident has reignited discussions about whether current DeFi security protocols are sufficient, with Minal Thurkal, head of DeFi Ecosystem Growth at CoinDCX, cautioning about the dangers of intricate protocols that stray from standard measures like TVL, as mentioned in

a Cointelegraph article

While investigations are ongoing, the DeFi world is left to reckon with the consequences of this breach. The hack not only revealed technical flaws but also underscored the difficulties in sustaining user confidence in a still-maturing industry. With the stolen funds likely to be further laundered and dispersed, the path to restitution for those affected remains unclear.

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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