Maya Protocol, a decentralized multi-chain liquidity network, has been exploited for roughly $1.7 million, according to Peckshield, a blockchain security firm. The bulk of the stolen funds, 20 BTC worth $1.34 million, remains untouched in a single wallet.
The wallet, which held 20.82730682 BTC as of publication, received the funds in 10 separate transactions on August 18 at 17:32 UTC, indicating that the funds were drained and consolidated rather than accrued through organic trading activity.
Exploit Details
Maya Protocol operates as a fork of Thorchain, using Cosmos-SDK, Tendermint consensus, and threshold signature schemes to let users swap assets across chains. The cross-chain design has made bridges and liquidity routers a favorite target for hackers.
Maya Protocol co-founder and strategic lead Aaluxx Myth issued a public statement confirming the exploit's root cause and halting global operations until further notice.
Broader Impact
Maya Protocol's exploit adds to a year that has been especially punishing for cross-chain infrastructure, with bridge exploits alone draining $328.6 million across eight major incidents in May. Cumulative 2026 hack losses are north of $1.65 billion, highlighting the exposure of even mature, audited protocols when cross-chain logic is involved.
