The Shibarium bridge, which connects Shiba Inu’s layer two ( L2) network to Ethereum, was targeted in a flash loan exploit that drained around $2.4 million in ether ( ETH) and the meme coin shiba inu ( SHIB) on Sept. 13, according to developer statements and several security alerts.
Flash Loan Attack Hits Shibarium Bridge, Draining $2.4 Million
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Security Firms Join Shibarium Inquiry Following $2.4M Bridge Theft
Developers said the attacker used a flash loan to buy 4.6 million BONE, gained majority validator power by accessing compromised signing keys, and signed a malicious state to move funds from the bridge. The sequence was detailed by blockchain developer Kaal Dhairya on X and echoed in multiple industry reports.
In response, the team paused staking and unstaking and shifted stake manager funds from a proxy contract to a hardware wallet secured by a 6-of-9 multisignature. Dhairya described those changes as temporary safeguards while the team validates key control and rotates credentials.
The team said they are working with blockchain security firms Hexens, Seal 911, and Peckshield, and that law enforcement authorities were contacted. They also signaled a willingness to negotiate if funds are returned, saying a small bounty could be considered and charges may not be pursued.
Early tallies put the losses near $2.4 million across ETH and SHIB, with the 4.6 million BONE used in the maneuver effectively frozen by network unstaking delays and administrative locks. Analysts tracking the incident reported BONE’s price rose during the commotion before easing. As of 9 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, BONE’s price is down more than 12% against the U.S. dollar.
As of Sept. 14, the bridge still remains paused while investigators review validator integrity and trace flows tied to the exploit. The team said stake and validator operations would resume after secure key transfers are completed and ownership is verified.
SHIB proponents and users have been urged to monitor official Shibarium and Shiba Inu channels for updates and to avoid interacting with the bridge until an all-clear is issued. No user wallets on L2 were reported to be impacted. SHIB too is down more than 5% against the greenback, trading for $0.00001379 per unit.
