The post IoTeX Exploit Sparks Security Alarm As $8.8M In Assets Are Drained appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

IoTeX is facing renewed scrutiny after a major exploit drained millions of dollars in digital assets from one of its token safes, triggering a rapid response from the project’s security team and partners. Initial reports indicate that an attacker siphoned a wide range of tokens, including USDC, USDT, IOTX, WBTC, BUSD and PAYG, before swapping the stolen funds into Ether in an attempt to obscure the trail. Blockchain analytics suggest the attacker quickly began bridging assets across networks, a common tactic used to complicate tracking efforts. The scale and speed of the exploit highlight the persistent risks facing DeFi infrastructure, where a single vulnerability or compromised key can lead to substantial losses within minutes. The breach underscores the delicate balance between open, permissionless systems and the operational security required to safeguard large pools of digital assets. As investigators piece together the sequence of events, the incident is already being viewed as another reminder of how rapidly capital can move, and disappear, in decentralized finance. The private key of @iotex_io may have been compromised, resulting in their token safe being drained for a total loss of approximately $4.3M. The attacker drained multiple contract assets, including: USDC, USDT, IOTX, PAYG, WBTC, BUSD The stolen assets were swapped for ETH, and… pic.twitter.com/xbNdwq83yD — Specter (@SpecterAnalyst) February 21, 2026 Funds Converted And Routed Toward Bitcoin On-chain activity shows the attacker did not simply hold the stolen assets. Instead, they converted the tokens into ETH and began routing portions through cross-chain liquidity infrastructure, including transfers toward Bitcoin via THORChain. Analysts observed at least 45 ETH being moved along this path, suggesting an attempt to further anonymize the proceeds. Such cross-chain laundering techniques have become increasingly common in high-profile exploits. By rapidly swapping and bridging assets, attackers aim to fragment the transaction trail across multiple ecosystems,…

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Filed under: News - @ February 22, 2026 4:26 pm