Truebit protocol was hacked, resulting in the theft of 8,500 ETH, and the TRU token price plummeted by 99.9%

Truebit as an Ethereum-based verification and computation protocol, recently suffered a massive loss of approximately $26.6 million due to a vulnerability in a smart contract deployed five years ago.

According to market data, following the incident, its native token TRU’s price plummeted from about $0.16 to $0.00007721 in a short period, a decline of up to 99.9%, severely damaging market confidence.

01 Incident Overview

The Truebit protocol experienced a significant security breach, resulting in substantial asset loss. According to official statements and blockchain analysis platforms’ tracking, the attacker exploited a long-standing vulnerability in the protocol to successfully steal a large amount of funds.

Blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain confirmed that the stolen funds amounted to approximately 8,535 ETH, which, based on the market price at the time, valued up to $26.6 million.

After the incident, the Truebit team quickly posted an announcement on social media platform X, confirming the security breach. They stated that they have contacted law enforcement and are taking all available measures to respond to the situation.

02 Attack Method Analysis

Security researcher Weilin Li’s analysis pointed out that the root cause of this vulnerability can be traced back to an old smart contract deployed about five years ago. This contract contained a minting function with a pricing error, which the attacker exploited to carry out the attack.

This vulnerability allowed the attacker to purchase the protocol’s native TRU tokens at a cost far below market price, enabling the extraction of huge value in a short period.

It is understood that the attack involved two independent attackers. One of them profited about $2.6 million, while the other gained approximately $250,000.

This incident once again highlights the serious risk of “legacy code” in the blockchain space. As researcher Li warned: “Nowadays, old contracts are becoming increasingly ‘popular’ among attackers.”

03 Impact on TRU Token and Market

The security incident dealt a devastating blow to the Truebit ecosystem. According to data from CoinGecko, after the vulnerability was exploited, the price of TRU experienced a sharp decline.

TRU’s price dropped from about $0.16 before the incident to $0.00007721, with a market cap evaporating over 99.9%, nearly reaching zero.

Such a price collapse not only directly affects token holders but also severely damages the operation and reputation of the entire Truebit protocol ecosystem. The extreme volatility of the token price reflects the market’s extreme pessimism about the protocol’s security and future development.

In contrast, the mainstream cryptocurrency market performed relatively stably during the same period. According to Gate’s data, BTC/USDT was reported at $91,001.2 on January 9, with only a 0.04% decline in 24 hours.

04 Industry Reflection and Security Challenges

The Truebit incident is the latest in a series of recent DeFi security breaches, highlighting ongoing industry challenges. Risks associated with old contracts and complex protocol interactions are increasing.

In November last year, Balancer protocol was attacked due to rounding errors in v2 composable stable pools, resulting in cross-chain asset losses exceeding $120 million. Recently, multiple protocols including Bunni, Nemo Protocol, Hyperdrive, and Yearn Finance have also suffered from smart contract vulnerabilities.

Even more concerning is that attack tools and techniques are continuously evolving. AI research firm Anthropic warned last month that advanced AI agents are now capable of identifying vulnerabilities in both new and old smart contracts on Ethereum.

Malicious actors can now leverage advanced technology to discover obscure and complex vulnerabilities, making security defenses more challenging.

05 How Gate Ensures Safe Trading for Users

In the face of an increasingly complex crypto market environment and security challenges, choosing a secure, transparent trading platform with powerful analysis tools is crucial. Against this backdrop, Gate, as an industry-leading trading platform, continuously strengthens its security infrastructure and provides users with professional market analysis tools.

Recently, Gate integrated an AI-powered market analysis tool called GateAI into its trading app, which can be used across multiple modules such as token search, spot charts, and community updates.

The main features of GateAI include automated summaries and clear interpretations of market data, helping users quickly grasp key dynamics amid information overload. More importantly, the tool will actively mark uncertainties when conclusions cannot be verified, preventing users from being misled.

It is especially noteworthy that this tool is positioned as a decision-support tool rather than an automated trading system; trading execution remains entirely under user control. Additionally, the tool uses a quota management model and may in the future be linked to the platform’s VIP tier system, offering different access levels to different users.

Future Outlook

Following the incident, Truebit’s TRU token price nearly dropped to zero from the high of about $0.16, with market cap evaporating over 99.9%. This prompts a re-examination of legacy issues in the blockchain world.

On Ethereum, countless old smart contracts have been running silently for years. The warning from AI security firm Anthropic has become a reality: malicious actors are leveraging advanced technology to discover obscure and complex vulnerabilities.

From Balancer’s $120 million loss to Truebit’s $26 million vulnerability, these figures are more than just on-paper losses.

They are reshaping industry security standards, prompting every project to re-examine their codebases, and encouraging investors to be more cautious when choosing protocols.