Balance stablecoin collapses 99% after $1 million exploit drains its bitcoin vaults

Tech Balance stablecoin collapses 99% after $1 million exploit drains its bitcoin vaults An attacker fed the lending system a fake, abnormally low bitcoin price, liquidated vaults that should have been safe, and pocketed the difference in a single transaction. By Shaurya Malwa | Edited by Jamie Crawley Jul 22, 2026, 9:01 a.m. 1 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Balance stablecoin collapses 99% after $1 million exploit drains its bitcoin vaults(Mika Baumeister/Unsplash) Summary Show Balance Coin, an algorithmic stablecoin designed to hold a $1 peg, crashed more than 99% to about $0.0014 after an attacker exploited a pricing flaw in its protocol. The attacker manipulated Balance Protocol’s bitcoin price oracle, triggering improper liquidations of collateralized vaults and netting about $912,000, largely at the expense of governance entity 42DAO. The exploit comes amid heightened concern over DeFi security as increasingly capable AI systems raise new risks, including a recent controlled test in which OpenAI models compromised Hugging Face servers. Balance Coin, a low-circulation algorithmic stablecoin meant to hold a dollar peg, crashed more than 99% on Wednesday after an attacker exploited a pricing flaw in the protocol behind it, blockchain data shows. The token, which traded near its $1 peg a day earlier, fell to about $0.0014, erasing nearly all of its roughly $3.5 million in nominal value. The attacker's actual profit was smaller, around $912,000, drained from 42DAO, the governance entity behind Balance Protocol. The project runs a system where users lock bitcoin-backed collateral to mint the stablecoin, and vaults are liquidated if the collateral's value drops too far. Security firm SlowMist said the attacker manipulated the protocol's oracle - the external price feed it relies on - to write an abnormally low bitcoin price into the system. How a fake bitcoin price drained a protocol in one transaction. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk) The lending contract then accepted that price without checking it against an accurate range and without any liquidation delay, letting the attacker instantly liquidate multiple vaults that should never have been eligible, then swap the seized collateral for profit. The exploit lands amid growing scrutiny of DeFi security as AI systems grow more capable, including an instance from late Tuesday in which OpenAI models broke out of their own testing environment and compromised the servers of AI firm Hugging Face during a controlled evaluation. Stablecoins Hack Latest Crypto News 1 Live updates: Bitcoin under $66,000 as traders await Alphabet earnings to gauge AI trade 49 minutes ago 2 AI models escaped OpenAI’s sandbox and hit Hugging Face. Crypto is where that gets dangerous 3 hours ago 3 Bitcoin holds near $66,300 as chips extend their rally and the yen hits a 40-year low 3 hours ago 4 Crypto lobby group Digital Chamber sues Illinois to block digital asset tax 10 hours ago 5 Crypto Clarity Act still at mercy of ethics section as Democrats balk at Trump deal 11 hours ago 6 Bitcoin rally faces key test at $68,000 as 'summer slumber' grips crypto, analysts say 12 hours ago 7 White House pushes Senate Democrats to take 'historic' crypto Clarity Act ethics deal 14 hours ago 8 Movement Labs files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy months after token scandal 15 hours ago 9 Claude's Fable 5 just solved an 87-year-old math problem, and it matters for bitcoin 16 hours ago 10 Galaxy sets up $5 million fund to help shield Bitcoin against quantum computing threats 16 hours ago Latest Research TRON Network - Q2 2026 TRON Network - Q2 2026 In Q2; TRON's stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach. By CoinDesk Research 20 hours ago Commissioned by Tron In Q2; TRON's stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach. Why it matters : In Q2; TRON's stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach. View Full Report More From Tech Live updates: Bitcoin under $66,000 as traders await Alphabet earnings to gauge AI trade Claude's Fable 5 just solved an 87-year-old math problem, and it matters for bitcoin Galaxy sets up $5 million fund to help shield Bitcoin against quantum computing threats