AFX and Verus Protocol bridge hacks drain $31.6 million in hours
Crypto took a big hit this week: two bridge hacks happened back-to-back, wiping out over $31.6 million within a period of just hours.
First, AFX (a decentralized exchange on Arbitrum) was drained of $24.15 million, and several hours after, Verus Protocol's Ethereum bridge lost another $7.5 million.
Five validator keys compromised at AFX
Turns out, the AFX hack came down to five validator keys getting compromised: basically, hackers got access and made legit-looking withdrawals.
Blockaid co-founder and CEO Ido Ben-Natan explained it was more about weak security practices than a problem with the code itself.
Q2 2026 records 83 crypto hacks
These attacks aren't isolated: Verus Protocol's hit is part of a bigger trend.
There have been 83 crypto protocol hacks just the second quarter of 2026 (the most ever), and recent cases like KelpDAO's $293 million loss show that big crypto reserves are a tempting target for hackers.
The industry is definitely feeling the pressure to step up its security game.