Balancer loses $116M in a major multi-chain exploit, one of 2025’s largest DeFi hacks, prompting user safety warnings.
Author: Tanishq Bodh
November 3, 2025 – Balancer, a leading decentralized exchange and liquidity management protocol, has suffered one of the largest DeFi exploit of 2025, with estimated losses exceeding $116 million across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and other networks. The initial drain, first detected on Ethereum, rapidly spread to multiple Balancer forks, exposing deep systemic risks in cross-chain liquidity pools despite prior audits and security upgrades.
The exploit was first detected on November 3, when large withdrawals hit Balancer V2 pools on Ethereum. Initial losses totaled $70.6 million, including 6,587 WETH ($24.4M), 6,851 osETH ($26.8M), and 4,260 wstETH ($19.3M).
However, further investigation by Nansen, Lookonchain, and PeckShield revealed additional attacks across Arbitrum ($5.9M), Base ($3.9M), and Sonic ($3.4M).
DeFiLlama data shows more than 27 Balancer forks potentially compromised, indicating widespread exposure. This marks another blow for an industry that has lost over $3 billion to hacks in 2025 alone.
The vulnerability appears tied to Balancer’s V2 pool contracts, potentially involving flash loan or pool manipulation mechanics. Notably, V3 pools remain unaffected. The exploiter used fresh contracts and custom ERC-20 tokens to siphon funds, with activity still ongoing at press time.
Funds have been traced to multiple wallets, including:
Balancer Official Statement
While the exploit is ongoing, this event underscores the persistent fragility of DeFi infrastructure. Balancer has faced prior security incidents including a $500,000 exploit in 2020 and a $200,000 phishing frontend attack in 2023. The recurrence raises questions about long-term code resilience and cross-chain complexity.
Despite those setbacks, Balancer continues to underpin major liquidity systems, with over $80 billion in cumulative DeFi volume since launch.
The project’s modular pool architecture remains a cornerstone for decentralized asset management, though today’s breach may accelerate calls for stricter real-time monitoring and protocol-level insurance.
For users, the message is clear: verify approvals, monitor transactions, and wait for official Balancer updates (@Balancer) before interacting with any pools. As one on-chain analyst noted, “Even blue-chip DeFi isn’t immune, decentralization doesn’t mean invulnerability.”
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