Fantom-based Deus Finance Loses Over $3M to Price Exploit

Another day, another DeFi exploit. This time, it’s Deus Finance, a DeFi protocol on the Fantom blockchain.

According to a Tuesday update from blockchain security company PeckShield, the hacker made away with about $3 million including 200,000 DAI ($200,000) and 1101.8 ETH (appr. $2.8 million).

PeckShield, however, noted that Deus Finance may have lost more than $3 million.

1/ @deusdao Deus Finance was exploited in https://t.co/bfYCQcz5rZ, leading to the gain of ~$3M for the hacker (The protocol loss may be larger), including 200,000 DAI and 1101.8 ETH

— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) March 15, 2022

Deus Finance is a Fantom-based DeFi protocol that gives users and developers access to global markets. 

Following the news of the price exploit, funds were withdrawn from the protocol as its total value locked (TVL) reduced to $16.7 million, as of press time, from $18 million.

In subsequent tweets, PeckShield explained that the hacker was able to carry out the act due to Deus’ flash loan option that helped in manipulating the protocol’s price oracle. As a result, prices of the assets read “from the pair of StableV1 AMM – USDC/DEI, so that even normal users unfortunately become insolvent.”

4) The initial funds to launch the hack are withdrawn from @TornadoCash and tunneled to Fantom via @MultichainOrg. The result gains are tunneled via @MultichainOrg and funds are now washed via @TornadoCash. pic.twitter.com/UlJgiJMsa6

— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) March 15, 2022

DEUS Token Shreds More Than 23%

As expected, the recent hack has negatively affected the protocol’s native token, DEUS.

The token, which recorded a new all-time high (ATH) of $444.79 barely a day ago, dropped to as low as $286 a few minutes after the hack was announced. As of press time, though, the token was trading at $317, representing a 23% drop in value in the last 24 hours.

An Addition to Fantom’s Growing Woes

Earlier this month, two of Fantom’s lead developers, Andre Conje and Anton Nell, announced on Twitter that they were leaving the DeFi space, and wanted to have no involvement with the ecosystem anymore, including Fantom.

Although the CEO of Fantom, Michael Kong clarified that the protocols running on the platform will continue to function as usual, several projects on Fantom were shaken by the news. The platform experienced a 20% drop in its TVL, 24 hours after the exit announcement.

The latest news of Deus Finance’s exploits is no doubt another big blow to Fantom. 

Meanwhile, QiDAO, a decentralized finance protocol built on the Polygon network, suffered $13 million in losses from a security breach last month.