ZKsync Recovers $5.7M in Hacker Incident Through White-Hat Bounty Deal, Signaling Strong DeFi Security Response

ZKsync, a leading Ethereum Layer 2 scaling project, experienced a major security incident where a hacker exploited a flaw in its token airdrop contract and stole nearly $5–5.7 million in digital assets. The attacker used a compromised private key to mint tokens and divert unclaimed funds across both Ethereum and ZKsync’s networks. In response, ZKsync offered a 10% white-hat bounty to incentivize the return of the stolen assets within a 72-hour safe harbor period. The hacker returned all funds, accepting the bounty arrangement. ZKsync confirmed that user funds and core protocol infrastructure were unaffected, and the ZK token price stabilized after an initial sharp drop. The project will decide how to redistribute the recovered funds and has pledged to release a final investigative report. The incident highlights persistent security challenges in the DeFi sector and the increasing trend of using bounty deals to recover assets after hacks. For traders, this case underscores risks in smart contract security, the effectiveness of swift incident response, and bounty mechanisms in maintaining market confidence and limiting potential losses from exploits.