Skip to main content
Sign in

Wanchain-Cardano Bridge NIGHT Token Exploit (July 2026)

avoid.net/wanchain-cardano-bridge-night-token-exploit-july-2026→18/100·82% conf.
[AI-DRAFTED · AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Summary

On July 20–21, 2026, an attacker exploited a cryptographic signature-reuse vulnerability in the Wanchain-operated cross-chain bridge connecting Cardano and BNB Chain, draining approximately 515 million NIGHT tokens valued between $9 million and $13 million at the time of theft. The vulnerability resided in the bridge's TreasuryCheck validator, which concatenated 14 variable-length transaction fields without delimiters, allowing a legitimate small-value signature to be replayed against a vastly larger withdrawal. The underlying Midnight blockchain and Cardano networks were not compromised; the breach was isolated to Wanchain's third-party bridge infrastructure.

Connected Entities

1 entities · 10 linked investigations
Tokens
♦Wanchain-Cardano Bridge NIGHT Token Exploit (July 2026)
Relationships
    Also appears in
    edgeX Exchange·28Saga EVM Blockchain·32Mach-O Man Malware Campaign (Lazarus / Chollima)·0Alephium Bridge·18Bunni Protocol·28BitGrail·2Shunda Park Scam Compound·0Axiom DEX Insider Trading (Broox Bauer)·14Thorchain DEX·28Crossmint·70
    Have evidence about Wanchain-Cardano Bridge NIGHT Token Exploit (July 2026)?

    Timeline(5 events)

    2026-07-17

    Cardano executes the van Rossem hard fork (protocol version 11), expanding Plutus smart-contract functionality — three days before the exploit.

    CryptoSlate

    2026-07-20

    Attacker executes four transactions between approximately 14:46 and 14:55 UTC, draining approximately 515.2 million NIGHT tokens from the Wanchain Cardano-to-BNB Chain bridge treasury in roughly eight to nine minutes. The exploit is attributed to a non-injective signed-message encoding flaw in the TreasuryCheck validator.

    CryptoTimes (technical analysis) / Blockonomi

    2026-07-21

    Wanchain publicly acknowledges the breach and takes the Cardano-BNB Chain bridge offline. NIGHT token falls to an all-time low near $0.015–$0.016, a decline of 28–43% intraday. BlockSec's Phalcon monitor issues preliminary analysis. Midnight Foundation confirms Midnight blockchain is unaffected.

    CryptoTimes / CoinGape / TokenPost

    2026-07-22

    NIGHT token rebounds approximately 19% from session lows. Charles Hoskinson comments publicly, calling for industry-wide shift to zero-knowledge proof-based bridge infrastructure. CoinDesk reports on the rebound and Hoskinson's statements.

    CoinDesk

    2026-07-26

    CryptoTimes reports the industry lost over $47 million across multiple hacks in a single week, citing Wanchain, AFX Trade, and Verus as among the affected projects.

    CryptoTimes
    Provenance & Audit Trail
    12 Wayback Archives

    Decision Log

    • #1publish⛓ pending7/28/2026, 5:16:01 PM
      hash: AcUvnWV8D1Lj9NmUV7bt227WgjpQ7MJEJfv6YGywP73u

    12 of 16 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.

    full audit log →version history →

    model: claude-sonnet-4-6

    generated: 7/28/2026, 5:15:54 PM

    last updated: 7/28/2026, 6:45:21 PM

    avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world