Why ANKR Price Crashed Suddenly

BNB Chain-based protocol Ankr becomes the latest target of a DeFi exploit. The exploiter attacked the aBNBc smart contracts on the Ankr protocol and minted 10 trillion Ankr Reward Bearing Staked BNB (aBNBc). Data from on-chain analytics protocols and blockchain security firms revealed how hackers exploited Ankr for multi-million dollars.

As a result, Ankr protocol’s ANKR token fell over 5% in just a few hours. The price currently trades at $0.02154, with the possibility of another plunge.

Ankr Becomes Latest Target of DeFi Exploit

Ankr protocol on December 1 announced a technical upgrade related to all reward-bearing tokens and reward-earning tokens.

Blockchain security firm Beosin revealed that the deployer changed the implementation contract to the vulnerable contract address before the attack. The blockchain security firm believes the deployer’s private key was most likely exposed in this upgrade, making the attacker access deployer privileges to modify the contract.

The attacker then called mintApprovedTo function. After decompiling data, Becosin finds no permission checks of the mintApprovedTo function, allowing anyone to mint tokens.

Ankr exploiter had transferred 900 BNB worth around $253,000 into Tornado Cash. It had also bridged USDC and ETH to Ethereum, adding that the exploiter currently holds 3,000 ETH (around $3.8 million) and 500,000 USDC.

According to Lookonchain, Ankr exploiter dumped aBNBc and purchased 183,885 aBNBc with just 10 BNB. It caused the price of aBNBc to fall 99.5% from $303.89 to $1.53 in a few hours.

Later, the attacker deposited 183,885 aBNBc into Helio Money as collateral and borrowed 16 million HAY. Ultimately, the attacker sold 16 million HAY and get 15.5 million BUSD.

ANKR Price Plunges After the Hack

As a result of the hack and aBNBc falling 99%, the Ankr protocol’s native token ANKR also fell over 5%. In the last 24 hours, the ANKR token has made a low and high of $0.02086 and $0.02286.

At the time of writing, the ANKR price has increased slightly, with the price trading at $0.02152. The trading volume has jumped as a result of the hack.

Varinder is a Technical Writer and Editor, Technology Enthusiast, and Analytical Thinker. Fascinated by Disruptive Technologies, he has shared his knowledge about Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things. He has been associated with the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry for a substantial period and is currently covering all the latest updates and developments in the crypto industry.

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