THORChain Bug Halts Swaps on 10 Networks
THORChain paused swaps on 10 networks after a refund bug left one of its vaults 10 ETH short. The flaw followed a one-block Ethereum reorganisation: THORChain recorded a deposit that was later reversed, then refunded funds it did not actually hold. The sender later returned the 10 ETH, closing the shortfall.
The incident triggered THORChain’s solvency checks and an emergency halt. Chainalysis said the pause also delayed North Korean hackers’ laundering of funds stolen from Binance. As of Monday, swaps remained halted on ATOM, BCH, BSC, BTC, DOGE, ETH, LTC, SOL, TRON and ZEC; AVAX, Base and XRP were operating.
THORChain warned that after a reorganisation on an external blockchain, an attacker could reuse a transaction nonce and receive funds from its vaults. Developers are working on a fix, but the network has not announced when halted chains will resume. The vulnerability and prolonged service disruption pose risks for THORChain users and traders, while the immediate effect on the wider crypto market appears limited.
Bearish
The incident is bearish for THORChain in the near term. Swaps remain halted on 10 networks, limiting access to the protocol and potentially reducing trading volume, fees and confidence in its cross-chain infrastructure. The disclosed risk that a reorganisation could enable an attacker to draw funds from vaults may also prompt users to delay transactions or move assets elsewhere. Traders are likely to watch for a verified software fix, chain-by-chain reopening and any further security disclosures.
The wider crypto-market impact is likely to be limited unless the flaw leads to losses or spreads to other protocols. Past exchange and bridge security incidents have often caused immediate, concentrated selling in the affected project, while broader market prices were more influenced by Bitcoin’s trend and overall risk appetite. In the longer term, a successful fix and transparent recovery could restore confidence. Further delays, repeated outages or evidence of exploited vaults would deepen concerns and could weigh on THORChain’s activity and token sentiment.