Hyperbridge Exploit: Fake Polkadot $DOT Minting Triggers $20M Flash Crash

4 days ago 7

Polkadot Price Crash: $DOT Faces Sudden 5% Drop

In a high-intensity market event today, Polkadot ($DOT) experienced a sharp 5% price crash within a mere 5-minute window. The volatility resulted in the immediate wiping of $20 million in market capitalization and triggered the liquidation of over $728,000 in DOT long positions.

Early reports circulating on social media suggested a direct exploit of the Polkadot main chain. However, on-chain forensics quickly clarified that the vulnerability lies within Hyperbridge, a third-party interoperability protocol connecting Polkadot to Ethereum. The attacker successfully minted 1 billion "fake" wrapped DOT on Ethereum and dumped them into a Uniswap V4 pool, netting approximately 108.2 ETH ($237,000) in a single atomic transaction.