Curve Finance X account hacked, posts fake airdrop link

The X account of Curve Finance was most probably hacked. The DeFi protocol posted an airdrop link that may lead to personal wallet losses. 

The X account of Curve Finance unexpectedly posted an airdrop link urging registration for a new reward program. The unusual posting behavior was immediately recognized as a hack.

Unlike other hacks that merely posted a CA for a meme token, this time, the X account of Curve Finance led to an airdrop page. The page requests data and the connection of a crypto wallet, which exposes users to risks. The Curve scam is on the Ethereum ecosystem, meaning users can revoke permission.

Michael Egorov, the project’s founder, confirmed the account is still compromised, and none of the information on rewards or airdrops is true.

On-chain investigators warned against linking a wallet for the airdrop and revoking all permissions if the users connected their crypto wallet. The risk for end users lies in signing test transactions, which may come from a malicious smart contract.  

The best approach is to avoid interaction with any links posted by Curve or to responses in the same threads. Usually, hacked accounts also call additional bots or scammers with fake links to revoke wallet permissions.

Soon after the first message, Curve Fi continued with messages of an upcoming CRV token airdrop, urging registration before May 20.

The messages were immediately deleted after posting, lasting 30 minutes before removal. Later, Curve Finance posted a thread establishing the Curve Reward Foundation, outlining a reward program and re-posting the risky registration link. 

What raised a red flag for the Curve community is that the project has already distributed all its CRV tokens, and they have a predetermined vesting and unlocking schedule. Over 42% of CRV tokens are unlocked, with a total supply of 3.03B tokens. No other sources have announced a CRV airdrop.

Curve Finance aims to revive DeFi liquidity

Curve Finance was one of the early DeFi exchanges, going through multiple liquidations and losses for its native token. 

At its peak, the protocol locked in over $23B in total value. The liquidity was wiped out during the UST depegging event and the crash of Terra (LUNA). The FTX bankruptcy further unraveled the deposits to Curve. 

Currently, the protocol carries around $2B in value locked. However, Curve hopes to revive its lending activity. 

Curve Llama Lend recently revived its locked value after a liquidity resupply event. Llama Lend is setting up expectations for a new DeFi summer following years of low-level activity.

The Curve ecosystem is limited, depending on the crvUSD stablecoin. The token has just 158M in supply, making for a small DeFi sector. 

After the news of the hacked X account, the CRV token remained relatively unchanged. The asset is trading near a three-month high on expectations. Curve may make a recovery. The protocol has been lagging behind Aave and other DeFi apps following the 2022-2023 bull market.

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