The crypto industry has suffered another extensive hack, with Verus-Ethereum Bridge reportedly losing approximately $11.5 million in a new attack. Blockchain security researchers discovered that the intruder soon swapped the stolen funds for Ethereum, adding to concerns about the security of cross-chain bridges.
Verus-Ethereum Bridge(@VerusCoin) appears to have been exploited, with ~$11.5M stolen.
The exploiter has already swapped all the funds into 5,402 $ETH($11.5M).https://t.co/gGyYCjWbnV pic.twitter.com/qO5pQ3mSIB
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 18, 2026
The data, which was shared on the blockchain by the blockchain monitoring firms, showed that the exploiter had pulled out various assets from the bridge, including tokenized Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC, before converting them to approximately 5,402 ETH. There is one wallet address associated with the attack through which the funds are tracked.
Millions Drained From the Bridge
The exploit reportedly exploited the Verus-Ethereum Bridge, which functions to connect the Verus blockchain ecosystem with Ethereum. While the cross-chain bridges have been popular options for transferring assets across various blockchains, they have been one of the largest hacker targets in recent years.
Security experts at Blockchain estimate that during the exploit, the attacker managed to withdraw approximately 103.6 tBTC, 1625 ETH, and almost 147,000 USDC. The hacker then converted the assets’ currency to Ethereum following the theft, perhaps to ease movement or the hassle of tracking them.
The Verus team has yet to provide a complete technical description of how the exploit occurred. The attack on the bridge, however, is part of a long list of bridge attacks that have resulted in billions of dollars’ worth of losses in the crypto market in recent years.
Ethereum Market Feels Pressure
The exploit coincides with a down season for the crypto space. Before the spread of news about the attack, Ethereum’s prices were already struggling. ETH was holding up at crucial support levels, and market sentiment was bearish, according to analysts.
Bitcoin also witnessed significant selling activity with its price falling below $77,000 for a short time, marking the first time since early May. The traders were reacting to broader market weakness with more than $550 million of long trades being liquidated.
Conclusion
Security hacks frequently instill market insecurity in the short term due to the risk of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and bridges being compromised.
It is another reminder that security is one of the biggest challenges faced by the crypto industry today: the Verus Bridge exploit. As blockchain grows, the cross-chain bridge is still an attractive target for hackers as it has a lot of liquidity.
As inquiries proceed, the crypto industry will be closely monitoring to find out if the stolen cash can be recovered and what lessons the investors can learn to stop more such attacks in the future.
