Hackers have stolen $200 million U.S. worth of cryptocurrency from Nomad, a platform that enables users to transfer digital tokens from one blockchain to another.
Nomad acknowledged the hack on social media, but it is not clear if it plans to reimburse users who lost digital coins and tokens in the attack. The platform markets itself as a “secure cross-chain messaging” service.
The hackers reportedly exploited an upgrade to Nomad’s code to gain access to the platform and steal millions worth of cryptocurrencies. It’s also been reported that bots were used to carry out the attack on Nomad and drain accounts.
Nomad is known as a “blockchain bridge,” a platform or tool that enables users to exchange tokens and information across different cryptocurrency networks.
Blockchain bridges are used as an alternative to making transactions directly on a blockchain such as Ethereum (ETH), which can charge users high processing fees.
In recent months, blockchain bridges have become prime targets for hackers owing to their lax security and the fact that they are easy to access and manipulate.
Critics say Nomad was targeted through a flaw in its code. A routine update to the blockchain bridge enabled hackers to forge transactions and make off with $200 million U.S. worth of cryptocurrencies.
More than $1 billion in cryptocurrency assets have been stolen from blockchain bridges this year, according to crypto compliance firm Elliptic.
In April, a blockchain bridge called ‘Ronin’ was hacked and $600 million U.S. of cryptocurrencies stolen, which American officials have since blamed on North Korea. Another blockchain bridge called ‘Harmony’ was drained of $100 million U.S. in a similar hack.
