{"investigation":{"slug":"hyperbridge","entity_name":"Hyperbridge","trust_score":55,"severity_base":55,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.82,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Hyperbridge is a cross-chain interoperability protocol built by Polytope Labs, a Nigerian-founded firm co-founded by Seun Lanlege and David Salami, that uses cryptographic proofs to move assets and messages between Polkadot, Ethereum and other EVM chains. On April 13, 2026, an attacker exploited a Merkle Mountain Range (MMR) proof verification flaw in its Ethereum Token Gateway, minting about 1 billion bridged DOT; losses first reported at about $237,000 were revised to about $2.5 million across Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain and Arbitrum. The exploit came less than two weeks after an April Fools' post mocking the idea of a hack and followed alleged dismissals of security warnings; the protocol was paused, audited, and relaunched in June 2026 after an architectural rebuild, with compensation pledged in BRIDGE tokens if recovery falls short.","sections":[{"content":"Hyperbridge is a cross-chain interoperability protocol developed by Polytope Labs, a Nigerian-founded blockchain research and development firm co-founded by Seun Lanlege and David Salami, both former Ethereum and Polkadot protocol engineers. Lanlege previously worked at Parity Technologies, contributing to Parity-Ethereum, Substrate and Polkadot; Salami, the CTO, previously worked at Composable Finance and Commonwealth Lab on Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol research. The team has approximately 10 members split between engineering and business functions. Hyperbridge uses cryptographic proof verification (including zero-knowledge proof-based consensus verification) to move assets and messages between Polkadot, Ethereum and other EVM networks without relying on multisig validators. It launched on Polkadot mainnet in 2024 and operates as a parachain; the Polkadot DAO voted to designate it as the native bridge for the Polkadot network. As of 2025 the protocol had processed over $180 million in transaction volume and more than 53,000 cross-chain messages, and claimed support for over 12 chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain and Polkadot.\n\nReports differ on the funding figures. One account gives approximately $5.55 million in total funding, including a seed round and a public sale, backed by the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, the Web3 Foundation and Scytale Digital (TechCabal, Techpoint Africa). Another gives a $2.5 million seed round in September 2024 led by the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund (a joint venture of the Web3 Foundation and Scytale Digital) plus $2.8 million via public sale, and separately reports a $5.3 million round in April 2025 (CoinPaper, TechCabal); TechCabal's April 2025 article is headlined as a raise of 'over $5 million'.","heading":"Background, Team and Funding","sources":[{"url":"https://techpoint.africa/feature/how-hyperbridge-works-seun-lanlege/","name":"How Hyperbridge works (Techpoint Africa)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://techcabal.com/2025/04/17/polytope-labs-raises-over-5-million-to-scale-hyperbridge-backed-by-the-polkadot-ecosystem-fund/","name":"Polytope Labs Raises Over $5 Million to Scale Hyperbridge (TechCabal)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://coinpaper.com/5356/web3-foundation-and-scytale-lead-2-5-million-seed-investment-in-hyperbridge-to-build-the-end-game-for-blockchain-interoperability-on-polkadot","name":"Web3 Foundation and Scytale Lead $2.5 Million Seed Investment in Hyperbridge (CoinPaper)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://techparley.com/nigerias-polytope-labs-builds-hyperbridge-to-end-cryptos-multi-billion-dollar-bridge-hack-crisis/","name":"Nigeria's Polytope Labs Builds Hyperbridge to End Crypto's Multi-Billion-Dollar Bridge Hack Crisis","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://polkadot.com/newsroom/press-releases/hyperbridge-launches-on-Polkadot/","name":"Hyperbridge launches on Polkadot (Polkadot press release)","type":"official","credibility":3},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbridge","name":"Hyperbridge - Wikipedia","type":"other","credibility":2},{"url":"https://bitcoinke.io/2025/11/a-look-at-hyperbridge/","name":"A look at Hyperbridge (BitcoinKE)","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"On April 13, 2026, an attacker exploited a critical vulnerability in the Merkle Mountain Range (MMR) verifier used by Hyperbridge's Ethereum gateway contract (Token Gateway). According to the protocol's post-mortem, the MMR leaf validation logic did not check whether submitted leaves fell within valid tree bounds. The attacker submitted two leaves at once, one legitimate and one forged with an out-of-bounds index; the verifier reconstructed the correct Merkle root from the authentic leaf, silently skipped the invalid entry without detecting leftover leaves after processing peaks, and returned success. A zero-second challenge period compounded the flaw by removing any dispute window, so the forged proof executed immediately.\n\nUsing the forged proof, the attacker sent a forged cross-chain message through the dispatchIncoming function to TokenGateway.onAccept, which executed changeAdmin and transferred admin rights over the bridged DOT token contract on Ethereum to an attacker-controlled address. The attacker then minted approximately 1 billion bridged DOT tokens, nominally worth about $1.19 billion, and routed them through Odos Router V3 into a Uniswap V4 DOT-ETH pool. Shallow liquidity limited the cash-out to roughly 108.2 ETH (about $237,000). The attack unfolded in two phases: according to one account, a smaller extraction of approximately 245 ETH from Token Gateway preceded the main minting event by about one hour (see 'Laundering and Fund Tracing' for differing descriptions of this amount). Native DOT on the Polkadot relay chain and parachains was not affected.","heading":"April 13, 2026 Token Gateway Exploit","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/","name":"Post-Mortem: Hyperbridge MMR Verifier Exploit, April 13, 2026 (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/04/13/attacker-mints-usd1-billion-polkadot-tokens-on-ethereum-ends-up-stealing-just-usd250-000","name":"Attacker mints $1 billion Polkadot tokens on Ethereum, steals just $250,000 (CoinDesk)","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hacker-steals-237k-1b-bridged-dot-hyperbridge","name":"Hacker steals $237K after minting 1B bridged DOT on Hyperbridge (Cointelegraph)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/polkadot-hyperbridge-ethereum-gateway-exploit-sjb0ql","name":"Polkadot Confirms Exploit on Hyperbridge's Ethereum Gateway Contract (The Defiant)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://etherworld.co/hyperbridge-flaw-hits-polkadots-dot-on-ethereum/","name":"Hyperbridge Flaw Hits Polkadot's DOT on Ethereum (Etherworld)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/04/14/polkadot-hack-hyperbridge-1b-dot/","name":"Polkadot hack fallout: Hyperbridge mint triggers 1 billion bridged DOT (Cryptonomist)","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Initial reporting on April 13, 2026 put losses at approximately $237,000, reflecting only the ETH extracted through the Ethereum pool. On April 16, 2026, after a multi-chain forensic review over the following three days covering attacker activity on all four connected EVM chains (Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain and Arbitrum), the two-phase nature of the attack and associated DeFi incentive pool losses, Hyperbridge revised total realized losses to approximately $2.5 million, denominated in ETH and DOT at exploit-time values and roughly ten times the initial estimate. Hyperbridge stated that the exploit was contained to the Token Gateway contract and its associated incentive infrastructure on EVM chains, and that the core Polkadot network, native DOT holdings and DOT bridged through other bridges were unaffected.","heading":"Revised Loss Assessment","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/04/16/hyperbridge-raises-exploit-loss-estimate-to-2-5m-from-237k/","name":"Hyperbridge Raises Exploit Loss Estimate to $2.5M From $237K (Crypto Times)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/397773/polkadot-hyperbridge-exploit-losses-2-5-million-ten-times-initial-estimate","name":"Polkadot Hyperbridge exploit losses $2.5 million, ten times initial estimate (The Block)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/hyperbridge-exploit-losses-revised-25m/","name":"Polkadot Based Hyperbridge Revises Exploit Losses to $2.5M (BeInCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://ambcrypto.com/hyperbridge-revises-exploit-losses-to-2-5m-traces-funds-to-binance/","name":"Hyperbridge revises exploit losses to $2.5M, traces funds to Binance (AMBCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/hyperbridge-confirms-bridged-polkadot-exploit-053634639.html","name":"Hyperbridge Confirms Bridged Polkadot Exploit Was 10x Worse Than First Reported (Yahoo Finance)","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/polkadot-ethereum-bridge-hack-losses-152822623.html","name":"Polkadot-Ethereum Bridge Hack Losses Were 10x Worse Than Reported, Team Admits (Yahoo Finance)","type":"news_article","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"A portion of the stolen funds, reported as approximately 245 ETH extracted from the TokenGateway contract, was deposited into Tornado Cash, the OFAC-sanctioned Ethereum mixing service, complicating recovery. Accounts describe this 245 ETH differently: one places it as a smaller first-phase extraction about an hour before the main minting event (Hyperbridge post-mortem), while another describes it as funds moved into Tornado Cash after the exploit (Protos, TronWeekly). A significant portion of the exploited assets was traced on-chain to a Binance deposit address; Hyperbridge said it was cooperating with Binance's compliance team and law enforcement on potential asset freezes and recovery, and cautioned that meaningful recovery could take months to a year.","heading":"Laundering and Fund Tracing","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/hyperbridge-exploited-less-than-two-weeks-after-april-fools-day-hack-prank/","name":"Hyperbridge exploited less than two weeks after April Fools Day hack prank (Protos)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.tronweekly.com/hyperbridge-suffers-237000-breach-as-token-gate/","name":"Hyperbridge suffers $237,000 breach (TronWeekly)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://ambcrypto.com/hyperbridge-revises-exploit-losses-to-2-5m-traces-funds-to-binance/","name":"Hyperbridge revises exploit losses to $2.5M, traces funds to Binance (AMBCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/recovery-and-next-steps/","name":"Update on Recovery Efforts and Next Steps (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/","name":"Post-Mortem: Hyperbridge MMR Verifier Exploit, April 13, 2026 (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Before the exploit, Hyperbridge marketed itself as 'the world's safest bridge', stating in September 2025 that it 'replaces multisigs and MPC solutions, which have been at the centre of the largest bridge hacks with secure cryptographic proofs.' Its proof-based model was positioned as an improvement over multisig bridges that suffered major exploits such as Ronin and Wormhole.\n\nOn April 1, 2026, about 12 days before the exploit, Hyperbridge posted on X falsely claiming that North Korea's Lazarus Group had drained $37 million from the protocol. A linked blog post contained a Rickroll GIF and an article titled 'Why Hyperbridge Can't Be Hacked', referencing fictional attack vectors such as quantum computing and rogue AI agents. Around April 2, 2026, after a known exploiter address began probing the bridge, a Hyperbridge developer reportedly dismissed the attempts with 'hope you have a quantum computer bro'; another developer reportedly noted at the time, 'Rule #1 dont actively provoke attackers.' The prank posts were deleted after the real exploit. The team later acknowledged that early security warnings had been dismissed as April Fools' pranks, calling this 'a critical error.'","heading":"Pre-Exploit Security Claims and April Fools Prank","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/hyperbridge-exploited-less-than-two-weeks-after-april-fools-day-hack-prank/","name":"Hyperbridge exploited less than two weeks after April Fools Day hack prank (Protos)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=hyperbridge-exploit","name":"Hyperbridge exploit (Web3 Is Going Great)","type":"community_report","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/polkadot-hyperbridge-april-fools-joke-comes-true-as-over-1-billion-fake-dot-tokens-were-minted-on-ethereum/","name":"Polkadot Hyperbridge April Fools joke comes true (CryptoSlate)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://ambcrypto.com/hyperbridge-exploit-lets-attacker-mint-1b-bridged-dot-raising-questions-after-safest-bridge-claims/","name":"Hyperbridge exploit lets attacker mint 1B bridged DOT, raising questions after 'safest bridge' claims (AMBCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/explained-hack-april-fool/","name":"Hyperbridge blog: April Fool hack post (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.autheo.com/blog/bridge-security-lessons-hyperbridge-exploit-2026","name":"Bridge Security After the Hyperbridge Exploit (Autheo Blog)","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Reports and screenshots indicate that in February 2026 a bug bounty hunter flagged critical vulnerabilities to the Hyperbridge team and allegedly received the response 'exploit them if you found them.' At the time, Hyperbridge offered a $250,000 bug bounty across Immunefi, Cantina and Hacken and claimed no critical vulnerabilities had been reported. These claims rest mainly on secondary media reporting and have not been confirmed by primary documentation; if accurate, they would represent a significant failure in security operations.","heading":"Alleged Dismissal of Security Researchers","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/hyperbridge-exploited-less-than-two-weeks-after-april-fools-day-hack-prank/","name":"Hyperbridge exploited less than two weeks after April Fools Day hack prank (Protos)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.autheo.com/blog/bridge-security-lessons-hyperbridge-exploit-2026","name":"Bridge Security After the Hyperbridge Exploit (Autheo Blog)","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The April 2026 exploit is the only major reported security incident in Hyperbridge's history since its 2024 Polkadot mainnet launch. A pre-exploit audit was conducted by Security Research Labs (SRLabs), which also audits the Polkadot chain, with the last engagement in 2024. The vulnerability sat in the Solidity MMR verifier used by the Ethereum gateway, not in the Polkadot parachain or the zero-knowledge proof generation pipeline; the post-mortem describes it as missing bounds validation on MMR leaf indices, a logic flaw rather than a cryptographic break. Identical bugs were found in two upstream ecosystem libraries, which Hyperbridge disclosed to Parity Technologies on April 21, 2026.\n\nA post-exploit SRLabs audit identified 14 vulnerabilities: 1 critical, 3 high, 5 medium, 4 low and 1 informational, all reported as remediated. The discovery of a further critical issue after the exploit raises questions about the adequacy of pre-exploit audit coverage and suggests possible broader code-quality concerns beyond the single disclosed flaw. The incident showed that implementation-level bugs in proof verification code can undermine an architecturally sound design.","heading":"Audits and Smart Contract Security Track Record","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/","name":"Post-Mortem: Hyperbridge MMR Verifier Exploit, April 13, 2026 (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.autheo.com/blog/bridge-security-lessons-hyperbridge-exploit-2026","name":"Bridge Security After the Hyperbridge Exploit (Autheo Blog)","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://hackenproof.com/programs/hyperbridge-protocol","name":"Hyperbridge Protocol: Program Info (HackenProof)","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://techpoint.africa/feature/how-hyperbridge-works-seun-lanlege/","name":"How Hyperbridge works (Techpoint Africa)","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://crypto.news/hyperbridge-launches-50k-bug-bounty-after-bridge-exploit/","name":"Hyperbridge launches $50K bug bounty after bridge exploit (Crypto.news)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/15/hyperbridge-offers-50000-for-critical-vulnerabilities/","name":"Hyperbridge Offers $50,000 for Critical Vulnerabilities (Crypto Times)","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Hyperbridge paused its gateway infrastructure within hours of detecting the exploit and said Token Gateway bridging would not resume until the vulnerability was fully patched, an independent audit was completed and published, and additional safeguards were in place. An emergency fix adding bounds validation to MMR leaf verification was deployed within 72 hours, by about April 16, 2026. An SRLabs-audited version of the patched code was released and redeployment began by May 11, 2026. In May 2026 Hyperbridge launched a public bug bounty on HackenProof with rewards from $200 for low-severity findings up to $50,000 for critical ones, and reported paying over $150,000 to more than 20 researchers in the first week.\n\nHyperbridge committed that if recovery of stolen funds falls short by April 13, 2027, one year after the exploit, affected users will be made whole through a distribution of BRIDGE tokens, the protocol's native asset; the disbursement schedule and valuation method were deferred to that date. A Polkadot governance forum pre-proposal discussed a DOT recovery loan from the Polkadot Treasury to compensate liquidity providers, with Hyperbridge/Polytope Labs assuming repayment. LP losses were estimated at $1.5 million to $1.8 million before deducting earned vDOT rewards, with a proposed 12-month linear vesting schedule. Supporters cited Hyperbridge's status as officially designated Polkadot infrastructure; critics raised concerns about setting a bailout precedent and the enforceability of the repayment guarantee. The proposal had not reached a final vote as of late May 2026.","heading":"Incident Response, Compensation and Recovery Plan","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/recovery-and-next-steps/","name":"Update on Recovery Efforts and Next Steps (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/","name":"Post-Mortem: Hyperbridge MMR Verifier Exploit, April 13, 2026 (Hyperbridge official blog)","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://ambcrypto.com/hyperbridge-revises-exploit-losses-to-2-5m-traces-funds-to-binance/","name":"Hyperbridge revises exploit losses to $2.5M, traces funds to Binance (AMBCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/15/hyperbridge-offers-50000-for-critical-vulnerabilities/","name":"Hyperbridge Offers $50,000 for Critical Vulnerabilities (Crypto Times)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/hyperbridge-launches-50k-bug-bounty-after-bridge-exploit/","name":"Hyperbridge launches $50K bug bounty after bridge exploit (Crypto.news)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://phemex.com/news/article/hyperbridge-revises-hack-losses-to-25-million-plans-compensation-73722","name":"Hyperbridge Revises Hack Losses to $2.5 Million, Plans Compensation (Phemex)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://forum.polkadot.network/t/pre-proposal-discussion-dot-recovery-loan-to-hyperbridge-token-gateway-exploit-victims/17552","name":"Pre-proposal discussion: DOT recovery loan to Hyperbridge Token Gateway exploit victims (Polkadot Forum)","type":"community_report","credibility":3},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/hyperbridge-exploit-losses-revised-25m/","name":"Polkadot Based Hyperbridge Revises Exploit Losses to $2.5M (BeInCrypto)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://hackenproof.com/programs/hyperbridge-protocol","name":"Hyperbridge Protocol: Program Info (HackenProof)","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Rather than only patching the exploited components, Polytope Labs rebuilt the protocol's core architecture and relaunched in June 2026. The shared Token Gateway was replaced with a Hyperfungible Token standard in which each bridged asset is an independent application controlled by its own issuer, with separate contracts, pause keys and rate limits, removing the single point of failure exploited in April. Proof generation, previously done only by the Polytope Labs team, was opened so that any operator can run the SP1 prover and submit proofs for rewards based on timing and accuracy. The sudo governance pallet that let the core team make unilateral emergency changes was removed; protocol upgrades now require token-holder votes and treasury disbursements require public governance authorization. Block production moved from team-assigned validators to a permissionless election based on reputation earned by provers and relayers. The two-part relayer system was consolidated into a single HandlerV2 component. A LayerZero-compatible adapter (HyperbridgeLzEndpoint) lets applications move from multisig-based verification to proof-based security by changing one configuration parameter. The commercial model shifted from pay-as-you-go to prepaid monthly bandwidth subscriptions of $50 to $1,000 payable in stablecoins.","heading":"June 2026 Relaunch and Architectural Rebuild","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/16/hyperbridge-didnt-patch-its-2-5m-hack-it-rebuilt-everything/","name":"Hyperbridge Didn't Patch Its $2.5M Hack — It Rebuilt Everything (Crypto Times)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto-economy.com/hyperbridge-relaunches-with-decentralized-upgrades-following-april-hack/","name":"Hyperbridge Relaunches With Decentralized Upgrades Following April Hack (Crypto Economy)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://technext24.com/2026/06/16/hyperbridge-relaunches-as-hyperstructure/","name":"Hyperbridge relaunches as 'Interoperability Hyperstructure' with new OFT adapter after $2.5M exploit (Technext)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://innovation-village.com/hyperbridge-relaunches-after-2-5m-exploit/","name":"Hyperbridge Relaunches After $2.5M Exploit (Innovation Village)","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The exploit occurred amid continued losses across cross-chain bridges; industry data cited in June 2026 put total bridge exploit losses at approximately $328 million for 2026. Because Hyperbridge was positioned as a more secure alternative to multisig bridges, the incident drew attention to its claimed security model. It did not affect Polkadot's core network or the DOT token itself, but added to scrutiny of the Polkadot ecosystem; a May 2026 report from The Defiant titled 'Polkadot Is Kind of Done' cited falling usage and controversy in the ecosystem.","heading":"Broader Ecosystem Context","sources":[{"url":"https://innovation-village.com/hyperbridge-relaunches-after-2-5m-exploit/","name":"Hyperbridge Relaunches After $2.5M Exploit (Innovation Village)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/blockchains/polkadot-ecosystem-update-may-2026","name":"'Polkadot Is Kind of Done.' The Once Hyped Layer 0 Faces Falling Usage, and Controversy (The Defiant)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/04/14/polkadot-hack-hyperbridge-1b-dot/","name":"Polkadot hack fallout: Hyperbridge mint triggers 1 billion bridged DOT (Cryptonomist)","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-11","event":"Polytope Labs publicly launches the Hyperbridge cross-chain bridge.","source":""},{"date":"2024","event":"Hyperbridge launches on Polkadot mainnet as a cross-chain interoperability bridge using zero-knowledge proof-based consensus verification.","source":"Hyperbridge Overview - Polkadot Wiki","source_url":"https://wiki.polkadot.com/learn/learn-hyperbridge/"},{"date":"2024-09","event":"Hyperbridge raises a $2.5 million seed round led by the Web3 Foundation and Scytale Digital via the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund.","source":"CoinPaper","source_url":"https://coinpaper.com/5356/web3-foundation-and-scytale-lead-2-5-million-seed-investment-in-hyperbridge-to-build-the-end-game-for-blockchain-interoperability-on-polkadot"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"Polytope Labs reports raising over $5 million, backed by the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, Web3 Foundation and Scytale Digital (described on one page as including a $5.3 million round).","source":"TechCabal","source_url":"https://techcabal.com/2025/04/17/polytope-labs-raises-over-5-million-to-scale-hyperbridge-backed-by-the-polkadot-ecosystem-fund/"},{"date":"2025-09","event":"Hyperbridge expands to Polygon mainnet; the team markets the protocol as 'the world's safest bridge'.","source":""},{"date":"2026-02","event":"Alleged: a bug bounty researcher reports critical vulnerabilities and is reportedly told 'exploit them if you found them' by the team.","source":""},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Hyperbridge posts an April Fools' joke on X claiming the Lazarus Group drained $37 million; the linked blog post contains a Rickroll GIF and an article titled 'Why Hyperbridge Can't Be Hacked'.","source":"Protos","source_url":"https://protos.com/hyperbridge-exploited-less-than-two-weeks-after-april-fools-day-hack-prank/"},{"date":"2026-04","event":"A known exploiter address begins probing Hyperbridge; a developer reportedly dismisses the attempts with 'hope you have a quantum computer bro'.","source":""},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Attacker exploits an MMR proof verification flaw in Hyperbridge's Ethereum Token Gateway, seizes admin control of the bridged DOT contract and mints about 1 billion bridged DOT, extracting about 108.2 ETH (~$237,000). Gateway paused within hours; the April Fools posts are later deleted.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/04/13/attacker-mints-usd1-billion-polkadot-tokens-on-ethereum-ends-up-stealing-just-usd250-000"},{"date":"2026-04","event":"About 245 ETH taken from the TokenGateway contract is deposited into Tornado Cash.","source":""},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Hyperbridge revises total exploit losses to about $2.5 million, roughly ten times the initial estimate, after reviewing activity across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base and BNB Chain; emergency bounds-validation patch deployed.","source":"Crypto Times","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/04/16/hyperbridge-raises-exploit-loss-estimate-to-2-5m-from-237k/"},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Stolen funds traced in part to Binance; Hyperbridge says it is cooperating with Binance compliance and law enforcement.","source":"AMBCrypto","source_url":"https://ambcrypto.com/hyperbridge-revises-exploit-losses-to-2-5m-traces-funds-to-binance/"},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Hyperbridge files a vulnerability disclosure with Parity Technologies after finding identical bugs in two upstream ecosystem libraries.","source":"Hyperbridge Post-Mortem (official blog)","source_url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/"},{"date":"2026-04","event":"Polkadot Forum pre-proposal discussion proposes a DOT recovery loan from the Polkadot Treasury for liquidity providers affected by the exploit.","source":"Polkadot Forum","source_url":"https://forum.polkadot.network/t/pre-proposal-discussion-dot-recovery-loan-to-hyperbridge-token-gateway-exploit-victims/17552"},{"date":"2026-05","event":"SRLabs-audited version of the patched codebase released; redeployment begins.","source":"Hyperbridge Post-Mortem (official blog)","source_url":"https://blog.hyperbridge.network/april-13-post-mortem/"},{"date":"2026-05","event":"Hyperbridge launches a HackenProof bug bounty of up to $50,000 for critical vulnerabilities, after a post-exploit SRLabs audit found 14 vulnerabilities (1 critical, 3 high, 5 medium, 4 low, 1 informational); over $150,000 reportedly paid to more than 20 researchers in the first week.","source":"Crypto Times","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/15/hyperbridge-offers-50000-for-critical-vulnerabilities/"},{"date":"2026-06","event":"Hyperbridge relaunches after a full architectural rebuild, including the Hyperfungible Token standard, permissionless proof generation, token-holder governance and a LayerZero-compatible OFT adapter.","source":"Crypto Times","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/16/hyperbridge-didnt-patch-its-2-5m-hack-it-rebuilt-everything/"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://techpoint.africa/feature/how-hyperbridge-works-seun-lanlege/","name":"How 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