Another Crypto Giant Falls: $7.5M Vanishes in Shocking KiloEx Hack

The crypto world has been hit again — and this time, it’s KiloEx at the centre of a $7.5 million nightmare.

On April 14, 2025, blockchain analysis firm Cyver was the first to raise the alarm. Their systems flagged a string of suspicious transactions involving the KiloEx_perp protocol across multiple chains. What followed was a full-blown security crisis that led to one of the most significant platform halts in recent months.

The attacker, using an address funded via TornadoCash, drained funds from the BNB, Base, and Taiko chains — raking in around $7 million through a series of coordinated exploitative transactions. By April 15, KiloEx officially confirmed what the blockchain community had feared: their vault had been compromised.

KiloEx Confirms the Nightmare

In an official post on X, KiloEx addressed its community directly. “We regret to inform you that the KiloEx Vault has been exploited,” they wrote. They went a step further by publicly sharing the attacker’s wallet address — a move meant to help other protocols identify and potentially block the rogue account.

That wallet: 0x00fac92881556a90fdb19eae9f23640b95b4bcbd — is now on multiple watchlists as KiloEx urged all partner platforms to act swiftly and remove access to prevent any additional damage.

What’s more alarming is the trail the hacker left. According to KiloEx’s ongoing investigation, the stolen funds were routed through zkbBridge and Meson, two protocols now working closely with the team to restrict the attacker’s movements and minimize the loss.

KiloEx’s Numbers — and What’s at Stake

KiloEx is no small player. According to data from its official website, the platform boasts a total trading volume of $38 billion, with $106 million in intraday volume and $6 million in open interest. For a platform of this scale, halting services isn’t just a setback — it’s a major disruption to the decentralized derivatives market.

In response to the crisis, KiloEx has launched a bounty program aimed at recovering the stolen funds. Their focus now lies on damage control, user reassurance, and recovering assets before the trail runs cold.

The Bigger Picture: A Bleeding Industry

KiloEx is just the latest victim in what’s shaping up to be a brutal year for crypto security. With over $2 billion lost in hacks so far in 2025, the trend is nothing short of alarming. Q1 alone saw $1.78 billion vanish from the market, with high-profile names like Bybit, Ads Power, Phemex, and Moby also suffering major blows.

The Bybit hack, still fresh in the industry’s memory, wiped out $1.5 billion — and with crypto hacks up 131% year over year, the pressure on platforms to boost security has never been higher.

It’s not just about better systems. Experts are now calling for stricter regulations and enforcement units, especially around decentralized platforms. With each new attack, the gap between innovation and security becomes more painfully obvious.

Market Reaction: Cautious Optimism or Calm Before the Storm?

Despite the turmoil, the broader crypto market seems relatively stable — at least on the surface. At the time of publishing, total market capitalization sits at $2.07 trillion, with a modest 0.83% daily gain. Bitcoin remains just under the $90K mark at $85,457, up 1.08% intraday and nearly 7.5% for the week.

However, the crypto fear and greed index tells a different story, resting at a cautious 31. Sentiment is fading fast, as users begin to question the reliability of platforms that were once trusted giants.

Top gainers on the day include Fartcoin, Story, Kaspa, Vechain, Toncoin, and Raydium — showing that opportunities remain, but the shadow of insecurity looms large.

Final Thoughts

KiloEx’s breach sends a clear message: no one is immune. As the industry races ahead in innovation, it’s the unresolved issues of security and trust that may define its next chapter. For now, all eyes are on how — or if — KiloEx bounces back.