Polkadot news

Polkadot's Referendum 1890 mandates validators to stake at least 10,000 DOT of their own funds, aiming to remove key barriers to staking participation. The change, currently showing 100% approval in OpenGov, is set to take effect May 31, with non-compliant validators risking being chilled. Once enacted, nominators become unslashable, and the unbonding period drops to 24–48 hours. By mid-June, validators will earn rewards in unlocked DOT with a one-year vesting, while stablecoin payouts cover operational expenses, phasing out the commission model. Polkadot states the redesign reduces risk for nominators and enables faster exits, marking a significant shift in staking economics. Validators must deposit the 10,000 DOT by the deadline to avoid penalties.

Hyperbridge has revised losses from its April 13 exploit to approximately $2.5 million, about 10 times higher than the initial $237,000 estimate. The updated figure accounts for losses from associated incentive pools and forensic analysis across four EVM chains. The exploit involved an attacker exploiting a vulnerability in Merkle Mountain Range proof verification, allowing unauthorized minting of bridged DOT tokens and draining of escrowed assets. The team is working with Binance and law enforcement to freeze stolen funds, with recovery potentially taking months to a year. If recovery efforts fall short, affected users will be compensated with BRIDGE tokens. The Token Gateway remains paused until the vulnerability is patched and independently audited.

Hyperbridge has revised its loss estimate from a recent exploit to $2.5 million, ten times the initial $237,000 figure. The updated amount reflects multi-chain losses on Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum that were not initially calculated. The attack involved an initial extraction of 245 ETH, followed by a forged cross-chain message that allowed minting of 1 billion bridged DOT tokens. Hyperbridge is working with Binance and law enforcement to trace funds, but recovery could take months to a year. If recovery falls short, the team plans to allocate its native BRIDGE token to cover user losses. Bridging services remain paused pending a security patch, with engineers finalizing fixes to address the broader vulnerability class.

The Hyperbridge team has revised its estimate of losses from a recent exploit of its Polkadot-Ethereum bridge, now reporting around $2.5 million, which is about 10 times higher than the initial $237,000 figure. The attack involved minting 1 billion wrapped DOT tokens and draining assets from multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum. The stolen funds have been traced to a Binance deposit address, and the firm is working with law enforcement and the exchange to freeze and recover the assets, though it warns this process could take months. Hyperbridge has paused bridging functionality on affected chains and plans to implement stricter security audits to prevent future incidents.

A hacker exploited a vulnerability in the Hyperbridge token bridge, minting 1 billion Polkadot (DOT) tokens worth over $1.1 billion on Ethereum. The exploit was limited to bridged DOT on Ethereum, with native Polkadot assets unaffected. Due to low liquidity on decentralized exchanges, the attacker could only sell the tokens for about $237,000. Hyperbridge has paused bridging operations and is implementing additional security measures.

Hyperbridge, a bridge connecting Polkadot to Ethereum, suffered a security breach allowing an attacker to mint 1 billion unauthorized DOT tokens. The exploit was caused by a Merkle Mountain Range proof replay vulnerability, where the system failed to properly validate cross-chain messages. Despite the large token mint, the attacker only gained about $240,000 due to shallow liquidity in the bridged DOT pool, which prevented a larger cash-out. This incident occurred shortly after Hyperbridge posted an April Fools' joke about a fake $37 million hack. The breach has driven Polkadot's DOT token toward its all-time low, falling 5% to $1.14, amid broader concerns over cross-chain security. While Polkadot's core network remains secure, the exploit highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in bridge infrastructure, a common target in crypto hacks.

A hacker exploited the Polkadot-based cross-chain interoperability protocol Hyperbridge, netting about $237,000. The attacker minted 1 billion bridged Polkadot tokens in a single transaction, exploiting a vulnerability that allowed forged messages to change the admin of the token contract on Ethereum. Hyperbridge paused operations after the attack, with initial analysis pointing to a malicious proof that fooled the protocol's Merkle tree verifier. The exploit highlights ongoing security concerns about blockchain bridge infrastructure, despite a broader year-over-year decline in DeFi exploit losses.

Three altcoins face pivotal price levels in the third week of April 2026. RaveDAO (RAVE) surged 185% daily, targeting $9.00, but faces manipulation concerns. Polkadot (DOT) fell 8% to $1.18 after a bridge exploit, nearing its all-time low. Official Trump (TRUMP) tests double bottom support at $2.78 ahead of a key holder event.

Polkadot's bridged DOT token on Ethereum was exploited, with an attacker minting 1 billion tokens and dumping them for 108.2 ETH ($237,000), causing the price to drop from $1.22 to fractions of a cent. The attack targeted the Hyperbridge gateway contract through a forged message, compromising only the bridged representation, not Polkadot's native chain. No official response has been issued yet.

Crypto markets entered the second week of March with three altcoins flagged for potential volatility: Polkadot (DOT), WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) and Pi (PI). Polkadot is gearing up for a tokenomics update on March 12‑14 that will cut new issuance and add long‑term supply controls. The token, down about 63% year‑to‑date but up roughly 10% over the past month, shows a bullish RSI divergence and could test $1.42 support, with $1.75 resistance and a possible move toward $2.07 if it breaks higher. WhiteBIT Coin gained liquidity after a Kraken listing on March 5 and faces a cliff unlock of 81.5 million tokens on March 13, adding roughly $4.4 billion to circulation. The price, up about 11% weekly and 90% year‑to‑date, forms a bullish flag; a break above $55 may push it toward $66, while a drop below $52 could weaken the setup. Pi Coin is completing a mainnet protocol upgrade by March 12 ahead of the community’s Pi Day on March 14. The token has risen 27% in the last week and 49% in the past month, forming a bull‑flag that could target $0.331 if it retests $0.227, with support at $0.194 and a deeper break below $0.185 invalidating the rally.