On January 8, the Ethereum verification protocol Truebit was attacked, resulting in hackers stealing 8,535 ETH (approximately $26.4 million). This was reported by analysts at Lookonchain. 

It appears Truebit (@Truebitprotocol) has been exploited, with 8,535 $ETH ($26.44M) stolen. 🚨 https://t.co/jvj8lVkfTM pic.twitter.com/22Q58vdzvN

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 8, 2026

The project team confirmed the hack, stating that only one smart contract was affected. The reasons behind the incident and the total damage have not yet been disclosed, as the investigation is ongoing. 

“We are in contact with law enforcement and are taking all available measures to resolve the situation,” Truebit stated. 

Independent researcher Weilin (William) Li suggested that the attackers exploited a vulnerability in a token minting function with an incorrectly set price in an outdated contract deployed about five years ago.

Another 26M hack. @Truebitprtocol

I haven't decompiled the vulnerable code yet, but the root cause appears to be a mispriced minting function of its purchase contract that allows anyone to purchase TRU token at a very low price.

The first attacker (26M profit):… pic.twitter.com/qmoDB54I0w

— Weilin (William) Li (@hklst4r) January 8, 2026

The attackers managed to buy native TRU coins at an artificially low price. 

The expert believes that two independent groups were involved in the hack: the first made a profit of $26 million, while the second gained around $250,000. 

The TRU token has nearly collapsed, with its price dropping by approximately 100% within 24 hours. At the time of writing, the coin is trading at about $0.00007212. 

Source: CoinGecko. 

It is worth noting that at the end of December, the Trust Wallet browser extension was hacked for $8.5 million. The project team stated that the hack affected 2,520 addresses. 

Almost simultaneously, the DeFi protocol Unleash Protocol fell victim to cybercriminals, with approximately $3.9 million stolen. 

In total, the damage from hacks in 2025 reached $3.4 billion, with a significant portion attributed to hackers from North Korea.