Cross-chain liquidity protocol Symbiosis said it recovered 15 Bitcoin into a team-controlled multi-signature wallet following an exploit of its native Bitcoin bridge on Friday. All protocol routes remain operational, though the Bitcoin bridge itself stays paused.
According to blockchain security firm Blockaid, the attacker minted 46.1 billion unbacked tokens through the bridge exploit and realized net proceeds of 4.3 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), valued at $336,000. Symbiosis has not detailed how the recovered 15 BTC relates to the $336,000 in proceeds attributed to the attacker.
The protocol is now offering a 20% bounty to anyone providing information that leads to asset recovery. Symbiosis had initially offered a 20% white-hat bounty for the attacker to voluntarily return the funds, but that deadline expired on Sunday. The protocol stated it will disclose a compensation framework for affected liquidity providers.
DefiLlama recorded approximately $336,000 in losses from the exploit, though Symbiosis has not yet released a final accounting of total losses.
Recurring Bridge Security Challenges
Bridge exploits continue to pose risks across the DeFi sector. In June, Secret Network experienced an infinite mint exploit that drained approximately $4.6 million. In May, the Verus-Ethereum bridge was drained of 5,402 Ether in a forged cross-chain transfer exploit. The hacker returned 75% of the stolen funds after the protocol offered a 25% white-hat bounty, retaining approximately 1,350 Ether.
