Maya Protocol — August 2026 Six-Bug Exploit
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anchored·4GvfNP…JEv8Summary
On August 18, 2026, an attacker exploited MAYAChain—the decentralized cross-chain liquidity network operated by Maya Protocol—by chaining six distinct software bugs in a single 23-message transaction. The exploit allowed the attacker to inflate a liquidity pool by approximately 49.45 million CACAO tokens, gain near-total control of that pool, and extract roughly $1.65–1.7 million in Bitcoin and other assets. CACAO's price fell approximately 89% and total network pool value dropped by an estimated $11 million, prompting an emergency network halt. As of late August 2026, the attacker's Bitcoin wallet remained unspent and no patch timeline or LP compensation framework had been publicly confirmed.
Connected Entities
8 entities · 60 linked investigations- BounceBit→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Ethereum→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- Term Labs→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
- THORChain→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
- THORChain→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- THORChain→mentioned with→Arbitrum(60%)
- Maya Protocol — August 2026 Six-Bug Exploit→mentioned with→BounceBit(65%)
- Maya Protocol — August 2026 Six-Bug Exploit→mentioned with→Bitcoin(80%)
- Maya Protocol — August 2026 Six-Bug Exploit→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
- Maya Protocol — August 2026 Six-Bug Exploit→mentioned with→Dash(65%)
- + 5 more
Timeline(8 events)
1 March 2023
MAYAChain blockchain genesis. Maya Protocol launches as a friendly fork of THORChain with CACAO as its native settlement token.
The Defiant — What Is Maya Protocol?1 April 2023
MAYAChain trading opens with BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, and RUNE paired against CACAO in liquidity pools.
Maya Protocol Post Launch — Medium1 July 2023
Dash blockchain integrated as Maya Protocol's first unique chain integration not present on THORChain.
THORChain Community — Maya Protocol Chain Integrations18 August 2026
At approximately 17:30 UTC, an attacker submits a single 23-message MsgDeposit transaction at block 17977941, triggering a chain of six software bugs in MAYAChain's trade-account and outbound logic. The Arbitrum Chainlink (ARB.LINK) pool is inflated by 49.45 million CACAO via an uncapped slash subsidy with no rollback on failed reserve transfer. The attacker gains 99.93% ownership of the inflated pool and withdraws 48.87 million CACAO and 98.82 LINK. CACAO price collapses from approximately $0.115 to $0.013 (88.7% decline). Maya Protocol enacts a network-wide halt of MAYAChain.
Maya Protocol Six-Bug Trade Account Exploit — DeFiMon18 August 2026
The attacker moves 20.8273 BTC (approximately $1.34–1.36 million) to external Bitcoin address bc1q0hsgwunccczelq05ucpmfz268eyy5jr2y5l646.
Maya Protocol Exploit Drains Bitcoin and Other Assets as Pool Value Drops $11 Million — CoinDesk19 August 2026
Maya Protocol founder AaluxxMyth publicly confirms the exploit. The team publishes the attacker's Bitcoin address and extends a white-hat bounty offer in exchange for fund return and vulnerability disclosure. Recovery plan involving Aztec Chain investment proceeds is announced.
Six-Bug Exploit Halts Maya Protocol After $1.4 Million in Bitcoin Stolen — Decrypt21 August 2026
The attacker's Bitcoin address holds 20.8273 BTC with zero outgoing transactions as of this date. No response from the attacker to the white-hat bounty offer reported.
Six-Bug Exploit Halts Maya Protocol After $1.4 Million in Bitcoin Stolen — Yahoo Finance24 August 2026
The Maya Protocol incident is reported as the 16th crypto hack of August 2026. Combined losses across Maya, BounceBit, The Sandbox, and Term Labs that week are estimated at approximately $15 million. Network remains halted with no announced patch or restart timeline.
Crypto Hacks Drain $15M in a Week — CryptoTimesDecision Log
- slot 443527128 · hash EtZ5cpYXPVB2ZF81in8KraeQbhu6c4dEpGWYApVdTZdT
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 decision). 15 of 16 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 9/1/2026, 12:18:10 PM
last updated: 9/1/2026, 12:18:10 PM
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