Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Bridged DOT token on Ethereum drops near zero after an attacker took admin control to mint and dump fake 1 billion tokens.
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Polkadot’s native DOT token is down 5.5% and is now trading at $1.16.
Bridged DOT Token on Ethereum Hacked
Polkadot (DOT) fell around 5.5% on Monday, kicking off the week on a bearish note as news emerged of a major exploit involving its bridged token on the Ethereum network. While the native DOT token remains unaffected, sentiment has weakened, extending its ongoing downtrend.
An on-chain analyst, 0xZilayo, reported that attackers compromised the bridged DOT contract on Ethereum through an admin-change exploit. The breach targeted the HandlerV1 contract using a forged cross-chain message via Hyperbridge’s Interoperable State Machine Protocol (ISMP). By executing a “ChangeAssetAdmin” request, the attacker replaced the legitimate admin with a malicious contract.
With control secured, the attacker minted over 1 billion fake bridged DOT tokens. These tokens were then moved to Uniswap and swapped for approximately 108.2 ETH. The sudden increase in supply effectively collapsed the price of wrapped DOT on Ethereum, plunging it from $1.22 to zero.
Despite the intensity of the exploit, the broader impact on Polkadot’s native ecosystem appears limited for now. However, DOT continues to face downside pressure in the market.
Technical indicators show that DOT’s price action remains bearish. At the moment, DOT is trading well below its 50-day exponential moving average at $1.3861, as well as the 100-day and 200-day averages at $1.5996 and $2.1153, respectively.
The MACD histogram shows weakening bullish momentum, with the MACD line nearing a bearish crossover below the signal line. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is trending lower near 34, suggesting increasing selling pressure.
If the selling pressure persists, DOT could retest the February 6 low around $1.1020, aligning closely with the S1 pivot level near $1.089. A decisive break below this zone may open the door to sub-$1 levels, with the next downside target near the S2 pivot at $0.9250.
