Clipper, a decentralized exchange (DEX), recently faced a $450,000 hack, which they’ve clarified was caused by a problem in their withdrawal system—not a private key leak.
The attack happened on December 1st, targeting two of the platform’s liquidity pools, taking around 6% of the total value locked. Clipper confirmed that the other pools were untouched and that the exploit has since been stopped.
In a post on X, the team addressed the rumors, “There have been third-party claims suggesting a private key leak; however, we can confirm that this is not the case and is inconsistent with the design and security architecture of Clipper”.
Did you know?
Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?
Subscribe – We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!
How to Make Passive Money with NFT? (Explained!)
They also explained that the feature allowing withdrawals in just one token—a process that combines swap, deposit, and withdrawal actions—has been disabled, as that’s where the vulnerability seems to have been.
Before Clipper’s statement, Chaofan Shou, Fuzzland’s co-founder, said the hack might have been due to an application programming interface (API) vulnerability. They posted on X:
It is likely the API contains certain vulnerabilities and signed incorrect deposit / withdraw requests.
He suggested that the API may have let the attacker sign off on deposit and withdrawal requests, allowing them to grab more funds than they contributed.
Clipper is digging deeper into the breach and promises to share updates as they figure things out.
While Clipper’s hack was caused by a withdrawal vulnerability, other recent breaches tell a different story. In one case, a private key leak misuse led to the creation of counterfeit tokens. How did it happen? Read the full story.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.
With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.
Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.
Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.