Attacker Drains $24 Million From AFX Trade Bridge
AFX Trade, also known as AFX Protocol, is a decentralized perpetual-futures exchange on Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum, with trades settled in USDC. The incident matters because cross-chain bridges concentrate assets behind validator or multisignature controls, making compromised signing keys a direct route to custodial funds. The breach was confined to infrastructure operated by AFX, underscoring the distinction between an application-layer failure and the security of Arbitrum itself.
Blockaid said it detected the exploit at 9:30 p.m. UTC on July 22, 2026. The attacker withdrew 24.15 million USDC through AFX’s custody bridge, moved the funds to Ethereum and exchanged them for about 12,467 ETH at an average price of $1,937, according to on-chain trackers. AFX suspended bridge operations and offered a 30% white-hat bounty for returning the remaining 70%. Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder said Arbitrum’s native bridge was neither hacked nor exploited.
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The history behind this eventAxelar Cross-Chain Bridge Exploit Drains $4.67 Million
Cross-chain bridges lock assets on one blockchain and mint corresponding tokens on another. If their validation systems fail, unbacked tokens can be redeemed for real assets. The IBC bridge between Axelar Network and Secret Network had operated since early 2023. The incident underscores how bridge contracts and monitoring systems remain critical risks in the cross-chain ecosystem.
On June 10, 2026, an attacker exploited an “infinite mint” vulnerability in the Secret-side ics20-for-axelar contract, which failed to verify the source channel. The attacker minted seven types of unbacked tokens and redeemed them for about $4.67 million in assets. The incident did not come to light until June 17. Axelar subsequently disconnected Secret Network and notified law enforcement, while some of the funds flowed to Ethereum, BNB Chain and exchanges.
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