#Bittensor had to shut down its blockchain network on July 3, 2024 following the theft of $TAO worth approximately $8 million.
This temporary network closure was carried out to contain continued exploitation of the Bittensor blockchain network.
Bittensor Co-Founder – Ala Shaabana, announced this via a post on X.com by writing;
“Through the update, we have contained the attack and put the chain into safe mode (producing blocks but no transactions allowed).”
“We are still in the investigation stage and considering all possibilities. Stay tuned," the post continued.
Hacks and exploits remain one of the most pressing concerns for the crypto industry, delaying mass adoption.
In the last 13 years, the crypto industry suffered nearly $19 billion worth of theft, with 785 reported crypto hacks.
Potential private-key leak in Bittensor blockchain network
The theft was first discovered by pseudonymous onchain investigator ZachXBT in a July 3, 2024 Telegram message.
“Bittensor was terminated due to additional theft earlier today, potentially as a result of a private-key leak,” it said.
The unknown address “5FbW” was exploited to obtain 32,000 Bittensor (TAO) tokens worth approximately $8 million.
This latest attack comes a month after different wallets were drained of $11.2 million worth of TAO tokens on June 1, according to ZachXBT.
As for the transaction history of the alleged perpetrator's address on the bittensor blockchain network;
On the other hand, private-key leaks on blockchain networks have surpassed smart-contract attacks from hackers.
According to Merkle Science’s “2024 Crypto HackHub Report,” more than 55% of hacked digital assets were lost due to private-key leaks during 2023;
“While smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern, hackers are increasingly targeting areas outside of smart contracts, such as private key leaks. These leaks, often due to phishing attacks or insecure storage practices, have caused significant losses.”
This is because hackers are vying for easier targets, according to Mriganka Pattnaik – co-founder and CEO of crypto risk and intelligence platform Merkle Science.
Meanwhile, hacked and lost funds due to smart-contract vulnerabilities fell 92% from $2.6 billion since 2022 to $179 million in 2023.
