Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox Exploit)
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anchored·5ghTGy…t1ZuSummary
Hemi is a modular Layer-2 blockchain protocol designed to bridge Bitcoin and Ethereum into a single supernetwork, co-founded by former Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik and Max Sanchez. On September 7, 2026, an attacker exploited a reentrancy vulnerability in the MerkleBox smart contract used for Hemi's Genesis Drop token distribution, draining approximately 124.5 million unclaimed HEMI tokens, which were liquidated for roughly $255,000 in stablecoins. The exploit was isolated to the Genesis Drop claim contract; the core Hemi network, HEMI and veHEMI tokens, and bridge infrastructure were not affected.
Connected Entities
7 entities · 60 linked investigations- Ethereum→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- SushiSwap→mentioned with→Arbitrum(65%)
- SushiSwap→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
- Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox exploit)→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
- Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox exploit)→mentioned with→SushiSwap(65%)
- Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox exploit)→mentioned with→Bitcoin(80%)
- Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox exploit)→mentioned with→Arbitrum(65%)
- LayerZero — DVN Single-Verifier Configuration Risk→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- LayerZero — DVN Single-Verifier Configuration Risk→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
- Hemi (Genesis Drop / MerkleBox Exploit)→mentioned with→LayerZero — DVN Single-Verifier Configuration Risk(65%)
- + 3 more
Timeline(9 events)
12 March 2025
Hemi mainnet launched, positioning the protocol as a Bitcoin-Ethereum supernetwork L2 built on the OP Stack.
Crypto Briefing7 September 2026
03:35:23 UTC — Attacker deployed three exploitation contracts on the Hemi network.
Hemi Genesis Drop Post-Mortem (via Binance Square)7 September 2026
03:36:47 UTC — Attacker executed the reentrancy exploit against the MerkleBox Genesis Drop claim contract, draining approximately 124.5 million HEMI tokens via 63 recursive calls funded by a 2 million HEMI flash loan from SushiSwap.
Hemi Genesis Drop Post-Mortem (via Binance Square)7 September 2026
03:43:59–03:56:23 UTC — Stolen tokens sold on Hemi's DEX for approximately $255,000 in stablecoins and bridged via LayerZero to Ethereum, Arbitrum, and BNB Smart Chain.
Hemi Genesis Drop Post-Mortem (via Binance Square)7 September 2026
05:42 UTC — Hypernative security monitoring platform alerted the Hemi team to the exploit.
KuCoin Flash News7 September 2026
06:11 UTC — Hemi team identified the root cause of the exploit. Partner outreach began at 06:20 UTC; SEAL 911 contacted at 07:57 UTC.
Hemi Genesis Drop Post-Mortem (via Binance Square)8 September 2026
Upbit cancelled its planned HEMI listing approximately 18 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. KST opening, citing the exploit and apparent token theft.
Crypto.news9 September 2026
Bithumb designated HEMI as a trading warning asset and suspended HEMI deposits at 11:50 KST, citing the smart contract vulnerability, abnormal token outflow, and inadequate timely disclosure.
PANews9 September 2026
Hemi published an official postmortem confirming the exploit's scope, technical root cause, and ongoing recovery efforts.
Crypto EconomyDecision Log
- hash: 5U8DaDto7uYNfnJt4BDbV6DWiYtaVez5pWSK4gUh2eyJ
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 10 of 10 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 9/18/2026, 5:12:03 PM
last updated: 9/18/2026, 8:46:46 PM
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