First DeFi attack of 2026: Truebit was hacked and $26.5 million worth was stolen

The “Truebit” protocol suffered a security breach, resulting in a loss of approximately $26.5 million in Ethereum (ETH). The incident is considered one of the most prominent decentralized financial attacks in early 2026.

The incident caused the project’s TRU coin to plummet in price, with its value falling by approximately 100% within hours and becoming almost worthless on most trading platforms.

According to blockchain security firm PeckShieldAlert, the attacker exploited a vulnerability in one of the protocol’s smart contracts, allowing him to withdraw more than 8,500 ETH.

Data shows that the flaw is related to the pricing logic within the contract, as it allows attackers to mint TRU coins for free.

The hacker then quickly depleted the smart contract’s Ethereum reserves through a rapid cycle of buying and selling, repeatedly minting and selling within the protocol’s bonding curve.

The stolen funds were later transferred to two addresses: they begin and end as follows:

• 0x2735…cE850a.
• 0xD12f…031a6.

The “Truebit” platform confirmed it is aware of the security threat and called on users to avoid interacting with the affected contracts until further notice. The team has not released a detailed report on the incident but said it is communicating with legal authorities to take necessary steps to resolve the situation.

“PeckShield” reports that the perpetrators of this attack are the same as the Sparkle attack that occurred two weeks ago, using a similar method of minting currency at an artificially low cost, then exchanging it for Ethereum, and then moving the funds through “Tornado Cash” to hide their traces.

The incident comes amid a marked escalation in hacking operations in 2025, with “TRM Labs” reporting that the industry has lost more than $2.72 billion, the largest theft on record after the “Bybit” platform was hacked and $1.5 billion was stolen.

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