[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [TECHNOLOGY]

2 clusters · 13 sources · 3 days · First seen · Last updated

Initia blockchain security exploit

Overview

On October 23, 2026, the modular blockchain platform Initia suspended its Layer 1 network and all associated rollups following a security incident. The exploit, estimated to have drained between $2.6 million and $2.7 million in assets, was caused by a “Day 0 bug” related to the MoveVM on CosmosSDK. This flaw allowed an attacker to exploit the MoveVM script cache to mint unbacked assets, such as AUSD, WETH, iUSD, and USDCon, on the Initia Layer 1.

As the attacker bridged these unbacked tokens, real assets were released from Ethereum-side reserves. The stolen funds were subsequently swapped into approximately 1,135.52 ETH. On-chain data indicated that the USDC bridge reserve via Noble dropped from $1.09 million to $63 during the attack.

Validators halted the network to mitigate damage. While the exploit affected various assets, co-founder Ezaan Mangalji noted that the native INIT token supply was not impacted. Initia has been working with security teams, validators, and exchanges to assess the scope of the impact, and the exchange Upbit paused INIT deposits and withdrawals pending investigation.

Entities

Upbit · Noble · Bitquery · Initia · Spreek

Timeline

  1. [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    Initia network suffers $2.7 million bridge exploit

    An exploit in Initia's MoveVM script cache allowed attackers to drain $2.7 million via unbacked bridged assets, causing USDC reserves to drop to $63 during the October 23 incident.

  2. [TECHNOLOGY] 12 sources
    Initia halts blockchain and rollups following $2.7 million exploit

    Initia halted its Layer 1 blockchain and rollups after an exploit involving a MoveVM bug allowed an attacker to mint and bridge approximately $2.7 million in unauthorized tokens to Ethereum.

Sources

coindoo.com · cointrust.com · criptotendencias.com · crypto.news · cryptobreaking.com · cryptoninjas.net · cryptonomist.ch · cryptopolitan.com · dev.to · news.bitcoin.com · rande-academy.cz · unchainedcrypto.com · venceremos.it