Echo Protocol Hacked: $76M Stolen as May Crypto Exploits Hit 14

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Echo Protocol Joins THORChain, Verus as May Hack Count Reaches 14

Echo Protocol was hacked on Monad, resulting in the creation of 1,000 eBTC with a value of approximately $76.64 million.

Curvance temporarily halted trading on the impacted market, and Echo Protocol stopped all transfers between different blockchains. This brings the total number of cryptocurrency hacks for May to 14.

How the Echo Protocol Exploit Unfolded

I first saw a warning from the on-chain analyst dcfgod about something happening. Then, PeckShield tracked exactly how the attacker was trying to hide the stolen funds. It turns out they created 1,000 eBTC – that’s what they used to try and cover their tracks.

The attacker transferred $3.45 million in eBTC (equivalent to 45 eBTC) to Curvance, then borrowed 11.29 WBTC. They moved these funds to the Ethereum network and exchanged them for ETH.

The wallet transferred 384 ETH to Tornado Cash. Curvance shared an update on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the incident.

Around 6:00 PM Eastern Time, we noticed an unusual issue in the Echo eBTC market on Curvance. We’ve checked and found no evidence that Curvance’s smart contracts were hacked. Because each market on Curvance operates separately, no other markets are affected. We’ve temporarily paused the affected market as our team investigates the issue with help from our partners in the ecosystem.

Echo Protocol verified the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and temporarily paused all transactions moving between different blockchains while they look into what happened. They plan to share further information on their official accounts.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens

As an analyst, I’m currently focused on a security incident affecting the Echo bridge on Monad. Right now, we’ve paused all transactions moving between chains while we investigate. I’ll keep everyone updated with new information as quickly as possible through our official communication channels.

— Echo Protocol (@EchoProtocol_) May 19, 2026

In addition, Monad CEO Keone Hon clarified that the breach did not impact the Monad network.

According to security researchers, around $816,000 was stolen due to a vulnerability in @EchoProtocol’s eBTC, explained Hon.

A new security flaw, known as the Echo Protocol exploit, marks the third significant hack to hit the decentralized finance (DeFi) space in just five days. On May 15th, THORChain reported a security breach that resulted in the loss of over $10 million.

Just three days after a previous incident, security experts discovered another problem – this time with the Verus-Ethereum Bridge. Hackers stole around $11.58 million worth of digital assets. These repeated attacks show that security remains a major concern in the decentralized finance (DeFi) world.

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2026-05-19 06:19