Kinto coin crashes 99% after Arbitrum contract exploit

  • Kinto’s $K token plunged 99% after the Arbitrum mint contract exploit.
  • Hacker minted 7M tokens and drained USDC via the Morpho lending platform.
  • Kinto says user funds are safe and a full investigation is underway.

Kinto Network has suffered a severe blow after a smart contract exploit linked to its Arbitrum deployment, leading to the collapse of the K token’s value.

Within just 24 hours, the price of the $K token plummeted by over 99%, shocking investors and triggering a wave of uncertainty across the decentralised finance (DeFi) space.

Kinto (K) price chart

The breach, which originated from a minting contract on Arbitrum and not the Kinto mainnet itself, enabled the unauthorised creation of millions of tokens, ultimately undermining trust in the project’s token economy.

The exploit originated off the Kinto Network

Kinto confirmed that the exploit occurred off-network, specifically on the Arbitrum version of the K token’s mint contract, which had not been adequately secured against unauthorised minting.

Although the main Kinto network, wallets, and bridge vaults remained unaffected, the attacker managed to mint nearly 7 million K tokens—more than three times the previously circulating supply of fewer than 2 million tokens.

According to early on-chain analysis, the malicious actor did not immediately dump the tokens on public exchanges but instead began to slowly manipulate the market to maximise the token’s apparent value.

This stealthy approach allowed the attacker to use the inflated token price as leverage on Morpho, a DeFi lending platform, where they deposited the newly minted tokens as collateral.

Shortly after, the hacker borrowed large sums of USDC and subsequently withdrew the funds, leaving the protocol and the broader market exposed to significant losses.

Morpho Protocol has been left holding worthless tokens

One of the most significant aftershocks of the exploit is the collateral damage inflicted on Morpho, the protocol where the attacker deposited the inflated $K tokens.

With the token’s value now decimated, Morpho is left holding tokens that are essentially worthless, raising concerns about how the platform will manage the bad debt and mitigate the financial hit.

This event underscores the systemic risks associated with DeFi platforms that rely heavily on collateralized assets whose value can be manipulated.

Although Kinto has not disclosed how much USDC was drained from Morpho, recovery efforts are reportedly ongoing.

The rapid K price decline has sparked panic

In just one hour after the exploit on Thursday, the K token’s value collapsed by 45%, sparking a rapid selloff that wiped out more than 99% of its value in total by Friday.

The token, which had reached an all-time high of $11.89 in late March 2025, hit a new all-time low of $0.4854 according to CoinMarketCap data.

At the time of writing, the token is trading at $0.7053, down over 99.15% from its peak just three months ago, with a market cap of approximately $1.29 million.

Trading volume had surged to over $2.72 million in 24 hours as investors rushed to exit positions, further exacerbating the collapse.

Kinto has engaged third parties to investigate the exploit

Following the exploit, Kinto quickly issued a public statement, assuring users that their mainnet funds and bridge vaults were not affected.

However, the company acknowledged the seriousness of the incident and has since brought in third-party security experts, including Hypernative, Seal 911, Venn, and Zeroshadow, to investigate the exploit and assist with recovery efforts.

Kinto has pledged full transparency and is expected to release a comprehensive report once the investigation concludes.

Despite the assurance, market confidence remains shaken, with users on social media criticising the project’s contract design and the apparent lack of rigorous security audits.

Some community members expressed frustration with what they view as a pattern of poorly vetted DeFi projects harming retail investors.

While Kinto has stated that no insiders sold tokens during the crash and that token unlocks remain scheduled for April 2026, speculation continues to swirl around whether the exploit could have been prevented.

The project’s future now hinges on how effectively it can regain trust, patch security vulnerabilities, and recover lost value.

Until then, the $K token will likely remain volatile, as traders weigh the risks of staying in a project shaken to its core by a devastating exploit.

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Binance’s YZi Labs backs US based BNB treasury firm targeting IPO

  • YZi Labs backs first US-based BNB treasury firm by 10X Capital, which is targeting IPO.
  • Nano Labs recently purchased $50 million BNB tokens and plans to increase this to $1B BNB.
  • Binance Coin (BNB) has broken past $665, signalling a possible bullish move toward $733 target.

While Bitcoin (BTC) has historically led the charge in corporate treasury strategies, Binance Coin (BNB) is now positioning itself as the next major digital asset to capture institutional interest at scale.

Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, through his venture YZi Labs, has backed the creation of a US-based treasury firm by 10X Capital solely focused on BNB.

With a growing appetite from institutions for regulated crypto exposure, the new BNB treasury company marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of altcoin adoption beyond its native exchange utility.

A first-of-its-kind BNB-focused treasury aiming for IPO

Backed by Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao, YZi Labs has thrown its weight behind a first-of-its-kind BNB-focused treasury company in the United States.

The firm’s strategy involves launching an initial public offering (IPO) to allow traditional investors access to BNB without having to manage digital wallets.

The new treasury company plans to offer BNB-backed shares on a major US exchange, using a transparent structure that mirrors the reporting style of ETFs while maintaining regulatory compliance.

In this model, institutional investors will be able to gain BNB exposure through equity investments, providing a simplified path to crypto asset allocation.

YZi Labs, overseeing the execution of the strategy, will work alongside 10X Capital, which is handling asset management for the venture.

The leadership team behind the project adds significant institutional heft, including David Namdar, co-founder of Galaxy Digital, and Russell Read, former CIO of CalPERS and the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Their involvement reinforces the credibility of the initiative and underscores the strategic importance of BNB in broader financial portfolios.

Executives at YZi Labs revealed that they have engaged with over thirty other teams that are evaluating similar treasury models using BNB as the core asset.

BNB corporate accumulation

These developments come as Changpeng Zhao continues to demonstrate long-term conviction in BNB, holding 94 million coins as of June 2024, which accounts for 64% of its circulating supply.

Binance itself holds an additional 31.5%, indicating a high concentration of supply within a small network of stakeholders.

In addition, Nasdaq-listed Nano Labs recently invested $50 million to acquire over 74,000 BNB.

Nano Labs aims to scale this investment to as much as $1 billion in BNB, signalling an intent to hold up to 10% of the circulating supply.

The company’s aggressive treasury expansion is being financed through convertible notes and private placements, with shares surging following the announcement.

Other firms, including Build & Build Corporation and Trident Digital, are reportedly seeking significant Binance Coin (BNB) allocations as well, following a model similar to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy.

This wave of institutional buying reflects growing confidence in BNB’s long-term value beyond its role as a transaction token.

Binance Coin (BNB) price outlook

The market has responded to these strategic shifts with renewed optimism, as BNB recently broke above the $665 resistance level in a bullish ascending triangle pattern.

Whale accumulation has intensified in recent weeks, with on-chain data showing over 2.5 million active BNB smart chain addresses — a sign of strong demand and network engagement.

active-bnb-smart-chain-adresses

If momentum continues, analysts expect the token to move toward $733, with key support seen at $635, which must hold for the breakout to remain valid.

BNB is now trading around $670, which places it just 15% below its all-time high of $788 reached in December 2024.

With a market cap nearing $98 billion, BNB has solidified its position as a top-five cryptocurrency and is increasingly being seen as more than just a utility token.

For traders and investors, this moment represents more than a price move; it signals the arrival of BNB into the formal structure of traditional finance.

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