Ethereum News Update: 11 Security Reviews, $128 Million Gone—The DeFi Audit Dilemma Unveiled
- StakeWise DAO recovered 5,041 osETH and 13,495 osGNO from Balancer's $128M exploit, partially addressing the breach. - Attackers exploited token invariant math in V2 Composable Stable Pools despite 11 audits by top firms since 2021. - The breach spread across Ethereum, Base, Polygon, and Arbitrum, with Ethereum suffering most losses. - StakeWise's success highlights partial asset recovery potential but underscores DeFi's vulnerability to invariant manipulation attacks. - Industry faces audit paradox as 2
StakeWise DAO has reported the successful retrieval of 5,041 osETH and 13,495 osGNO from the
The breach, initially disclosed on November 3, involved a complex manipulation of Balancer’s liquidity pools. The attacker exploited token invariants—mathematical principles that regulate token exchanges—to secure advantageous rates and withdraw funds, DLNews reported. Despite having undergone 11 audits by leading firms such as OpenZeppelin, Trail of Bits, Certora, and ABDK since 2021, the platform’s smart contracts were still compromised, as outlined in a
Balancer clarified that the incident was "limited to V2 Composable Stable Pools" and did not impact V3 or other pools, according to Cointelegraph. Nevertheless, the exploit affected several blockchains, including
The recovery of osETH and osGNO—tokens representing staked Ethereum—by StakeWise highlights the possibility of reclaiming some assets after such breaches, Weex reported. However, the DAO’s achievement does not allay wider fears about DeFi’s susceptibility to invariant manipulation, where attackers exploit pricing formulas to empty liquidity pools, DLNews observed.
This event highlights a persistent issue in crypto security: even with increased spending on audits and bug bounty programs, advanced exploits continue to target complex code. By November 2025, losses from crypto-related breaches had already surpassed $2.2 billion for the year, according to DLNews. Experts emphasize that comprehensive security approaches, including proactive monitoring and community-led response systems, may be essential to counteract emerging risks.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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