Balancer, a leading DeFi protocol, suffered a significant exploit that resulted in approximately $116 million being drained from the protocol’s vaults. On-chain data shows a large anomalous outflow from Balancer’s “0xBA1…BF2C8” address to external wallets, including 6,587 WETH (approximately $24.5 million), 6,851 osETH (approximately $26.9 million), and 4,260 wstETH (approximately $19.3 million). The size and nature of the transfers indicate a coordinated attack involving high-value assets across multiple vaults.
Since then, the balancer Confirmed The breach states that “at approximately 7:48 a.m. UTC, an exploit affected the Balancer V2 composable stable pool.” According to the team, these pools had been running for several years, with some outside of the moratorium period, leaving them vulnerable. The potentially suspended pool has been stopped and is now in recovery mode, and the exploit is confirmed to be isolated to a V2 composable stable pool. Balancer V3 and all other pools are not affected.
Protocol says it is working with leading security researchers and legal teams on the investigation and will release a full post-mortem. Balancer also warned users about fraudulent communications that have since spread, and emphasized that official updates will only be provided through verified X accounts and official Discord.
The incident marks one of the biggest DeFi exploits this year and raises security concerns across the sector.
Related books
Hackers transfer stolen tokens to ETH as crypto market faces massive decline
According to Lookonchain, Balancer exploit has been launched swapping Stolen ETH assets have fueled concerns that attackers are attempting to quickly consolidate and move value before defense and recovery mechanisms can kick in. Converting large amounts of Liquid Staking tokens and wrapped assets to ETH not only solidifies the hacker’s control over the stolen funds, but also signals an intent to exit the position entirely rather than negotiate or return the funds, a troubling sign for victims and the protocol.
This development comes amid the sharpest decline the market has seen in recent months. Ethereum has fallen below the key psychological and technical level of $3,500, while Bitcoin has fallen below the $105,000 support, fueling fears of further declines as liquidity thins and sentiment worsens. Altcoins are already under pressure from macro-driven risk aversion and are bleeding heavily as capital turnover stagnates and speculative funds evaporate.
For balancers, timing compounds the severity of the crisis. A major security breach at a time of market vulnerability magnifies losses, erodes confidence, and increases the risk of liquidity disruption. The DeFi ecosystem is currently closely monitoring both the hackers’ next moves and the balancers’ recovery plans to weather the growing stress on both the technical and sentiment fronts.
Related books
BAL falls further under pressure from market decline
BAL has entered another phase of sustained weakness, with the weekly chart showing a clear downward trend, which is now getting even worse following the confirmed abuse. After trading around $1 for several months, the token has broken through its lows and is currently hovering around $0.80, marking a sharp weekly decline. This chart reflects heavy selling, suggesting that the security breach accelerated an already fragile market structure.
Technically, BAL remains below its 50-week and 200-week moving averages with no immediate signs of reversal, reinforcing the long-term bearish trend. Every time it attempts to establish support, it is met with a drop in highs or a decline in the stock price, indicating a persistent distribution and lack of sustained buyer interest. As fear spreads across the DeFi sector, the surge in volume during the recent downturn confirms capitulation behavior rather than accumulation.
Related books
Given the timing of the exploit, market sentiment surrounding BAL further deteriorated. Ethereum is trading below $3,500, Bitcoin has lost important support around $105,000, altcoins are bleeding across the board, and risk appetite is at a low level. For BAL to show any signs of recovery, it needs to regain psychological support around $1 and stabilize volume. Until then, price trends remain fragile and further declines cannot be ruled out as confidence recovers slowly.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
