A hacker has exploited the Echo Protocol on the Monad network and minted 1,000 eBTC worth about 76 million dollars out of thin air. On‑chain data shows the attack targeted Echo’s eBTC system on Monad rather than the base blockchain itself.
Security firms tracking the incident say the attacker used a known strategy to trick the protocol and create unbacked eBTC. Echo later paused all cross‑chain transactions as teams investigated the bug and tried to contain further damage.
The hacker generated 1,000 eBTC and then presented 45 eBTC as collateral to Curvance. Against that position, they borrowed approximately 11.3 WBTC, bridged it to Ethereum, and traded it for approximately 385 Ethereum.
The attacker then transferred the ETH using Tornado Cash, a sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer that obscures transaction trails and ownership. This made it far more difficult for investigators to trace the stolen Ethereum, although the initial eBTC mint is still visible on-chain.
Most of the Minted eBTC Remains Idle
The attacker has used sophisticated routing but has moved only a small portion of the value created by the vulnerability so far. The addresses associated with the hack still hold around 955 eBTC, worth more than $73 million at current pricing.
Analysts claim this pattern is similar to past DeFi hacks, in which the exploiter assesses how much value they can safely transfer without attracting too much attention. It also raises questions about whether they want to bargain, sit back and wait for amnesty offers, or explore other avenues to cash out down the line.
Curvance responded to the exploit by pausing the affected market and stressing that the attack did not directly break its core smart contracts. Meanwhile, Echo Protocol halted all cross-chain activity tied to eBTC while it reviewed the bug and worked with security researchers.
Monad CEO Keone Hon said the exploit did not touch Monad’s consensus or the broader network, framing the issue as a protocol‑level flaw in Echo’s design on top of Monad. Researchers currently estimate the realized loss at around 800,000 dollars based on what has actually left the ecosystem so far, even though the mint size looks far larger on paper.
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