Bittensor suffers $8 million exploit, TAO price tumbles to six-month low

2 months ago

Decentralized AI web Bittensor paused blockchain transactions aft its users’ wallets suffered an exploit that caused the nonaccomplishment of $8 cardinal worthy of assets.

Earlier today, blockchain researcher ZachXBT told his Telegram Channel members that a Bittensor idiosyncratic was drained of 32,000 TAO, worthy $8 million, due to the fact that of a leaked backstage key. He wrote:

“Bittensor was halted owed to further thefts earlier contiguous perchance arsenic a effect of backstage cardinal leakage.”

News of the exploit instantly impacted TAO’s price, which fell by astir 15% to a six-month debased of $227. However, according to CryptoSlate’s data, it has somewhat rebounded to $240 arsenic of property time.

Chain pause

Following the attack, the Bittensor squad confirmed the incidental and wrote connected X that the concatenation would beryllium successful “safe mode” for the adjacent 24 hours owed to its investigations into the “attack connected a fig of Bittensor wallets.” During this period, the web would lone beryllium capable to nutrient blocks, and nary transactions would beryllium processed.

The task added:

“As we are prioritizing this contented for the remainder of this week, we volition not beryllium releasing immoderate regular bundle update for either Bittensor bundle oregon for immoderate concatenation connected either mainnet oregon testnet until we person brought the concatenation afloat backmost online.”

The blockchain network’s co-founder Ala Shaabana besides corroborated this successful a abstracted societal media post, stating:

“By mode of an update, we person contained the onslaught and enactment the concatenation into harmless mode (blocks producing but nary transactions are permitted). We’re inactive mid probe and are considering each possibilities. Stay tuned.”

Bittensor’s Block Explorer data shows that its past artifact and transaction were confirmed astir 10 hours ago.

Notably, Bittensor validators similar RoundTable 21 revealed that the incidental did not interaction them arsenic their delegator’s funds stay safe.

Meanwhile, a crypto enthusiast noted that the blockchain developers’ determination to halt the chain mightiness harm the estimation of the network’s “decentralized” claim. The X idiosyncratic wrote:

“It mightiness beryllium a pro that the concatenation that tin beryllium halted is instances similar this, but I deliberation the estimation harm for a ‘decentralized AI’ protocol is much relevant. After all, if devs tin power disconnected the chain, the authorities tin bash truthful too.”

The station Bittensor suffers $8 cardinal exploit, TAO terms tumbles to six-month low appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.

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