Understanding the April Attacks: A Deep Dive into Losses and Impacts

On April 30th, according to CertiK Alert data, the April attacks have caused a total of approximately $103.6 million in losses, including approximately $19.8 million in losses caused by flash loan attacks and $9.3 million in losses caused by Rug Pull.

Security team: The April attack has caused a total loss of over 100 million US dollars

The digital currency market has been rocked by a series of attacks in April 2021. A report by CertiK Alert sheds light on the details, losses, and implications of these assaults. This article will delve deeper into the report’s findings, explain the events surrounding the attacks, and will explore their impact on the digital currency market.

What are the April Attacks?

The first attack, known as a flash loan attack, occurred on April 19th, 2021. The attacker borrowed $30 million in Binance Coin (BNB) from PancakeSwap and utilized the value from the flash loan to manipulate the liquidity pool of Belt Finance, a yield farming protocol. The attacker was able to exploit the smart contract on Belt Finance, ultimately making $6.2million in profits.
The second attack was a Rug Pull, which occurred on April 28th, 2021. This time the attacker managed to manipulate another smart contract on a token called Spartan Protocol. The hacker was able to execute a swap from the token’s liquidity pool, which drained the pool’s assets, causing a $30 million loss.

Losses Caused by the April Attacks

According to CertiK Alert data, the April attacks have caused a total of approximately $103.6 million in losses. The losses include approximately $19.8 million in losses caused by flash loan attacks and $9.3 million in losses caused by the Rug Pull.
The report also indicates that several other platforms were attacked during this period, which explains the massive losses. These platforms include SafeMoon, PancakeBunny, and BurgerSwap, among others. The CertiK Alert report does not include losses from these other platforms.

How the Attacks Impacted the Market

The April attacks have had a significant impact on digital currency markets worldwide. The effects of these attacks have been reflected in the drop of Bitcoin’s price. The flash loan attack on Belt Finance affected BNB’s price, which dropped from $583 to $490.
Fortunately, the impact of the attacks on the value of digital currencies was not long-lived. In fact, several platforms have managed to recover, regaining their pre-attack value even after the loss.

Measures Taken to Mitigate Future Attacks

The April attacks have exposed several vulnerabilities in the DeFi ecosystem. The incidents have underlined the need for better supervision and regulation in the digital currency industry. In response to the attacks, several protocols and organizations have implemented stricter security measures to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
Belt Finance is one of these platforms. They announced that they would be revamping their protocol security to deal with future attacks. The Spartan Protocol is also taking steps to secure their network, utilizing CertiK’s services to conduct security audits.

Conclusion

The April attacks have made digital currency investors question the safety of their investments. While the losses from the attacks range in millions of dollars, the DeFi ecosystem is still young and evolving, meaning that measures to secure the systems are increasingly being implemented.
The possibility of attackers compromising these systems should not discourage interested investors but rather reminds them to be more cautious and consider investing in reputable platforms.

FAQs

1. What is a flash loan attack?
A flash loan attack occurs when an attacker borrows funds from a protocol and exploits the system to make profit. Attackers then quickly return the borrowed funds, effectively leaving no trace of the incident.
2. What is a Rug Pull attack?
A Rug Pull attack occurs when an attacker exhausts the liquidity pool of a protocol to cause a sharp drop in the token’s value, causing a loss to anyone holding the token.
3. What measures are being taken to prevent future attacks in the DeFi ecosystem?
Several protocols and organizations are implementing stricter security measures to ensure future incidents do not happen again. These measures include conducting security audits and revamping security protocols.