Garden Finance Hit by Multi-Chain Hack, Losses Top $10 Million
Garden Finance, a cross-chain decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has been hit by a major exploit that resulted in over $10 million in losses. The incident, which occurred earlier this week, is the latest in a series of high-profile DeFi hacks that have raised renewed concerns about the security of multi-chain protocols. Analysts say the attack underscores ongoing vulnerabilities in decentralized systems that connect diverse blockchain networks.
Swift and sophisticated movement of stolen assets
According to ahead on-chain data, the attacker drained liquidity pools containing wrapped BTC (WBTC), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT) before converting the stolen tokens into Ether (ETH). The rapid movement of funds suggests a well-coordinated and premeditated operation. Initial estimates pegged the losses between $5.5 million and $6 million, but updated forensic analyses from blockchain researchers, including reports from Yahoo Finance and BeInCrypto, later raised the figure to approximately $10.8 million.
Garden Finance rapidly responded by pausing certain platform functions and initiating a security audit. The team also sent an on-chain message to the attacker offering a 10% white-hat bounty in platform for the return of the remaining funds. While the offer has yet to be accepted, it reflects a growing trend in DeFi security responses—offering incentives to mitigate losses when traditional recovery options are limited.
Dispute over responsibility and extent of exploit
In the hours following the incident, Garden Finance released a statement disputing claims that its core smart contracts were compromised. The project attributed the attack to vulnerabilities in a third-party integration, asserting that its main protocol remained secure. However, independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT shared data suggesting that the breach was multi-chain in scope, affecting components that spanned several networks.
This conflicting information has fueled debate within the DeFi community over where the responsibility lies and whether Garden Finance’s architecture sufficiently isolated risk across its integrations. The project’s native token, viewD, experienced a sharp decline in trading volume and price immediately later than the exploit, reflecting shaken investor confidence.
Experts note that cross-chain protocols like Garden Finance face higher security challenges due to their reliance on multiple smart contracts and bridging mechanisms. Even when a protocol’s own code is secure, vulnerabilities in connected systems can provide attackers with entry points. Recent high-profile hacks, including those affecting bridge providers and liquidity protocols, highlight the growing complexity of defending decentralized ecosystems.
As investigations continue, Garden Finance has not confirmed whether it will reimburse affected users or pursue recovery through legal or forensic blockchain tracking. The platform’s developers say a full post-mortem report is underway, promising to share findings with the community once internal audits are complete.
The Garden Finance exploit serves as a reminder of the persistent risks facing DeFi users and platforms operating in multi-chain environments. As the DeFi sector continues to evolve, the need for stronger cross-chain security standards and coordinated threat response mechanisms becomes increasingly urgent.
