Harmony Exploit: 4B ONE Tokens Minted Illegally, Price Crashes to Record Low

Criptolog » Coins » Harmony Exploit: 4B ONE Tokens Minted Illegally, Price Crashes to Record Low

The Harmony blockchain found itself in the spotlight on Wednesday after a security breach allowed an attacker to create roughly 4 billion ONE tokens out of thin air. This unauthorized mint, which represents about 26% of the network’s entire supply, triggered a massive sell-off that sent the token to an all-time low. The incident was first spotted by an on-chain analyst, and Harmony later confirmed the exploit, stating that it was working with exchanges to freeze affected funds and exploring a possible network rollback.

For a project that has already survived a $100 million bridge hack in 2022, this new blow raises serious questions about its security posture and long-term viability. The swift movement of most minted tokens to exchanges shows how quickly a supply shock can turn into a full-blown price collapse, leaving regular holders to bear the brunt of the damage.

How the Unauthorized Minting Happened

According to on-chain analyst Juiceberg, who first raised the alarm, the attacker exploited a vulnerability tied to empty blocks to mint billions of ONE tokens. The chain’s total supply endpoint did not immediately reflect the new tokens, which gave the attacker a window to move funds before detection. Juiceberg tracked that roughly 2.8 billion of the 4 billion minted were quickly transferred to exchanges, while about 115 million remained on-chain at the time of his report—just under 3% of the total minted.

The technical root cause hasn’t been disclosed yet, but Harmony acknowledged the incident in an official post, identifying four wallet addresses linked to the attack and asking exchanges to block and freeze any funds traced to them. The team also said it was developing a patch and evaluating rollback options, though no timeline was provided.

Market Reaction and Price Collapse

The market response was immediate and brutal. ONE dropped as much as 40% at one point, hitting a record low of $0.0005735 during early Asian trading. At press time, the token was trading around $0.0008, down roughly 30% on the day. The value of the 4 billion minted tokens at that price is about $3.2 million, a relatively small dollar figure compared to other crypto hacks, but the percentage dilution is enormous given ONE’s tiny price.

What made the crash worse is that the attacker moved most of the supply to exchanges within hours, creating massive sell pressure. Juiceberg noted that around 97% of the minted tokens were already on exchanges, either sold or sitting in deposit wallets ready to sell. That speed suggests the attacker anticipated detection and moved quickly to cash out before any freeze could take effect.

Harmony’s Response and Ongoing Investigation

Harmony has confirmed that it is coordinating with multiple exchanges to halt the movement of funds. The four wallet addresses shared by the team include both ONE and Ethereum addresses, indicating that some tokens may have been bridged or converted. The project is also working on a software patch to fix the vulnerability that allowed the minting, and it hasn’t ruled out a chain rollback—a move that could reverse the unauthorized transactions but also raises questions about transaction finality and community consensus.

As of now, Harmony has not disclosed the exact technical flaw that enabled the exploit. The investigation is still ongoing, and the lack of a root-cause explanation adds to investor uncertainty. Meanwhile, the broader crypto market remained steady, with Bitcoin holding around $63,900, but the Harmony incident served as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in blockchain networks.

Historical Security Problems and Community Backlash

This isn’t Harmony’s first major security failure. In June 2022, the Horizon cross-chain bridge was drained of nearly $100 million in a hack that the FBI later attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group and APT 38. That incident also involved compromised private keys and multi-signature wallet issues. Harmony also experienced a separate minting bug in 2023 linked to a staking flaw.

The repeat nature of these incidents has not gone unnoticed. Prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly stated that no one should help Harmony for free, citing the project’s failure to pay a bounty after the 2022 bridge hack. ZachXBT, who was part of the voluntary effort to trace and freeze funds in that earlier case, says Harmony only acknowledged the help with a “good job” message but never provided financial compensation. He confirmed he will not track the latest exploit, a stance that highlights growing frustration within the security research community over unpaid work.

That sentiment matters because without skilled analysts and ethical hackers, recovery efforts slow down and networks become more vulnerable. Harmony’s ability to manage this crisis will depend not only on its technical fix but also on rebuilding trust with the community that feels burned by past behavior.

Looking ahead, the next few days will be critical. Will exchanges successfully freeze the remaining tokens? Can Harmony patch the vulnerability before more damage is done? And will a rollback be implemented, and if so, how far back? These questions remain unanswered, but they will shape whether ONE can recover or continue to bleed. For now, the token remains a high-risk asset, and investors are advised to stay cautious until Harmony provides clearer answers about the unauthorized supply and its security roadmap.