Balancer, a major DeFi protocol, suffered a major exploit, with nearly $116 million drained from the protocol’s vaults. On-chain data shows unusually large inflows from Balancer address “0xBA1…BF2C8” to an external wallet, including 6,587 WETH (~$24.5 million), 6,851 osETH (~$26.9 million), and 4,260 wstETH (~$19.3 million). The scale and nature of the transfers suggest a coordinated attack involving high-value assets across multiple vaults.
Balancer ever since certain breach, noting that “at approximately 7:48 AM UTC, a vulnerability affected Balancer V2 Composable Stable Pools.” According to the team, these pools had been live for several years, and some of them were outside the moratorium window, making them vulnerable. Pools that would have been paused have been stopped and are now in recovery mode, with the exploit confirmed to be isolated to V2 Composable Stable pools. Balancer V3 and all other pools remain unaffected.
Protocol says it is working with senior security researchers and legal teams to investigate and will issue a full post-mortem report. Balancer also warned users of the spread of fraudulent communications in the aftermath, stressing that official updates will only come through a verified X account and official Discord.
This incident represents one of the largest DeFi exploits of the year and has raised security concerns across the sector.
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Hackers are dumping stolen tokens into ETH as cryptocurrency markets face a massive sell-off
According to Lookonchain, the Balancer exploit has begun swap ETH assets were stolen, raising concerns that the attacker intends to quickly consolidate and transfer value before defenses or recovery mechanisms can engage. Converting large amounts of Liquid Staking tokens and wrapped assets into ETH not only strengthens the hackers’ control over the stolen funds, but also signals an intention to exit positions entirely rather than negotiate or return the funds – a worrying sign for victims and the protocol.
This development is unfolding during one of the steepest declines the market has seen in recent months. Ethereum price fell below $3,500, a key psychological and technical level, while Bitcoin price fell below the $105,000 support level, intensifying fears of a deeper decline as liquidity dwindles and sentiment deteriorates. Altcoins, already under macroeconomic de-risking pressure, are bleeding hard, as capital turnover halts and speculative flows evaporate.
For Balancer, the timing heightens the severity of the crisis. Any major security breach during a fragile market period magnifies losses, erodes confidence, and increases the risk of liquidity disruption. The DeFi ecosystem is now closely monitoring the hacker’s next moves and Balancer’s recovery plan as the sector faces increasing pressure on both the technical and moral fronts.
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BAL collapses further as market sell-off creates extreme pressure
BAL has entered another phase of sustained weakness, with the weekly chart showing a clear downtrend which has now intensified following the confirmed exploit. After trading near the $1 zone for several months, the token has declined, currently hovering around $0.80 and showing a sharp weekly decline. The chart reflects heavy selling volume, suggesting that the security breach accelerated an already fragile market structure.
Technically, BAL remains below its 50-week and 200-week moving averages, reinforcing a long-term downtrend with no immediate signs of a reversal. Every attempt to create support has been met with smaller highs and lows, indicating continued distribution and a lack of ongoing buyer interest. The recent surge in volume during the sell-off underscores capitulation behavior rather than accumulation, as fear spreads across the DeFi sector.
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Market sentiment around BAL deteriorated further given the timing of the exploit. With Ethereum trading below $3,500, Bitcoin losing key support near $105,000, and altcoins bleeding across the board, risk appetite is at a low point. For BAL to show signs of recovery, it will need to regain psychological support near $1 and volume flows stabilize. Until then, price action remains weak, and further decline cannot be ruled out as confidence slowly rebuilds.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
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