Axelar suspends Secret Network bridge following $4.7 million exploit

The incident centers on the Secret-side ICS-20 smart contract, the mechanism responsible for processing IBC transfers between the two networks. According to Axelar, the core protocol remains secure and unaffected, with the vulnerability isolated to the specific bridge connection. The company’s emergency committee moved to disable the Secret and Secret-SNIP routes as the investigation continues into the precise attack path used by the perpetrators.

Axelar representatives stated they are coordinating with law enforcement and various crypto exchanges to track the stolen funds. While engineers conduct a full post-mortem, the bridge routes will remain offline. This breach arrives during a volatile period for decentralized finance, as security incidents across the sector continue to impact liquidity and project stability. Recent months have seen similar disruptions, including the collapse of the payment platform Pyra and recovery efforts by the Humanity Protocol following unrelated credential-based attacks. Analysts note that such exploits have contributed to significant outflows from decentralized finance protocols, further tightening market leverage.