Critical Taiko Hack: Security of All L2 Network Bridges at Risk
On June 22, the team behind the Layer 2 (L2) solution Taiko officially confirmed the compromise of the blockchain state verification mechanism. This is a direct violation of the fundamental security principles on which the entire network infrastructure relies.
As a result of the incident, trust in any bridges deployed within the Taiko ecosystem has been completely lost. Developers strongly recommend that all users immediately withdraw funds from all bridge protocols. The situation is critical — further storage of assets on these bridges carries unacceptable risks.
The project is already coordinating actions with the security council and key ecosystem partners to contain the threat. As a preventive measure, a request has been sent to centralized exchanges to suspend deposits of the TAIKO token until an official notification that the situation has been resolved.
Analysts at Lookonchain estimate the direct damage from the attack at approximately $1.7 million. The attacker managed to steal native TAIKO tokens and various wrapped ETH (wETH). Part of the stolen funds, specifically 1.99 million TAIKO (about $189,000), has already been deposited on the crypto exchange MEXC. At the time of writing the analysis, the hacker also held 870.8 ETH ($1.52 million).
The market reaction was immediate: within 24 hours, the TAIKO coin plummeted by 11% — from $0.09 to $0.07. This is a natural response to the loss of trust in the network's security.
It is worth noting that this incident occurred shortly after a similar bridge hack between Axelar and Secret Network on June 19, where the damage amounted to $4.67 million. Both cases demonstrate a systemic security problem with cross-chain bridges, which remains one of the most vulnerable points in the architecture of decentralized finance.
Expert comment: The attack on Taiko is yet another reminder that even L2 solutions with advanced architecture are not immune to critical vulnerabilities at the state verification level. Users should reconsider their risk management strategies and view bridge protocols as temporary, rather than permanent, asset storage. The market will likely continue to penalize projects that cannot ensure uncompromising security for their bridges.