Initia halts network after security incident as attacker reportedly mints tokens

Initia, a blockchain built to support interconnected chains, halted its Layer 1 blockchain and rollups on Friday after a security incident.

Co-founder Ezaan Mangalji, who goes by Zon, said preliminary findings pointed to a previously unknown "Day 0" bug in the network’s MoveVM implementation on Cosmos SDK that allowed unauthorized token minting but "does not apply to native INIT tokens."

"The attacker was able to mint and bridge out ~$2.7m worth of AUSD, ETH, and USDC before the chain was paused," he said.

Blockchain researcher Spreek initially estimated that the attacker had cashed out roughly $2.6 million and had more funds in transit.

Initia said it was investigating the reach of the incident alongside security teams, validators, and exchanges. It has not confirmed the amount lost.

Initia's native INIT token fell 14% immediately after the exploit was reported, before reversing the losses. The token is now up 14% on the day.

This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.