Shibarium Bridge Hacked for $2.4M, Developers Freeze Staking to Block Attacker

Shibarium, the Layer-2 network built around the Shiba Inu ecosystem, was hit by a flash loan exploit on Friday that drained more than $2.4 million in ETH and SHIB from its bridge contract.

How the exploit unfolded

The attacker borrowed 4.6 million BONE, Shibarium’s governance token, through a flash loan. By compromising 10 of the network’s 12 validator keys, the exploiter effectively gained majority control over Shibarium’s consensus mechanism. With that leverage, they drained around 224.57 ETH and 92.6 billion SHIB from the bridge and redirected the funds to their own wallet.

The haul also included about $700,000 worth of K9 (KNINE) tokens linked to K9 Finance, a project integrated into Shibarium’s ecosystem.

Developer response

Shiba Inu developers quickly moved to contain the fallout. They paused staking and unstaking functions, effectively locking the borrowed BONE tokens and preventing the attacker from consolidating control. Since BONE withdrawals are subject to an unstaking delay, the freeze ensured the attacker could not complete their power grab.

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Meanwhile, the K9 Finance DAO blacklisted the exploiter’s wallet, making it impossible for the stolen KNINE tokens to be sold on the open market.

Broader impact

Although the attack highlights persistent vulnerabilities in bridge security, developers framed the quick response as evidence of Shibarium’s resilience. Still, the exploit has rattled the Shiba Inu community, with BONE dropping nearly 10% and SHIB slipping slightly in the aftermath.

With the investigation ongoing, the incident reinforces how validator key security and cross-chain bridge safeguards remain critical pressure points for Layer-2 ecosystems.