- Alex Protocol’s exploit led to a loss of $8.3M, affecting Stacks ecosystem’s confidence
- Alex Lab has promised full USDC reimbursement to affected users
Stacks [STX] saw its price drop sharply on the charts, falling to $0.6532 after shedding 1.37% in 24 hours, 9.64% in a week, and 31.12% over the past month.
What led to STX falling off the bullish charts?
While market-wide weakness played a role, the real blow came from a major exploit on 06 June that hit the Alex Protocol – A core DeFi project on the Stacks blockchain.
In a statement posted on X, Alex Protocol’s team revealed that the breach stemmed from a flaw in its self-listing verification logic.
The attacker exploited the same to siphon liquidity from multiple asset pools, casting a shadow over the network’s security outlook.
The latest exploit on the Alex Protocol stands out as one of the most significant security breaches within the Stacks ecosystem.
In fact, according to official disclosures, the attackers managed to drain approximately 8.4 million STX tokens, 21.85 sBTC, 149,850 in combined USDC and USDT, and 2.8 Wrapped Bitcoin, in a major blow to the platform’s liquidity.
Alex Protocol’s plan of action
In a bid to restore user confidence and mitigate the fallout, the Alex Lab Foundation, which backs the protocol, has committed to fully reimbursing affected users by drawing from its treasury reserves.
Remarking on the same, the post noted,
“Using the ALEX Lab Foundation treasury, we will cover 100 % of each affected user’s loss, paid in USDC. To calculate each reimbursement, we will use the average of on-chain exchange rates taken between 10:00 UTC and 14:00 UTC on June 6, 2025.”
Following the recent exploit, Alex Lab outlined a detailed reimbursement plan and committed to compensating affected users in USDC.
Compensation will be based on average exchange rates between 10:00–14:00 UTC on 6 June.
Users will receive an on-chain notification and a claim form by 8 June. Submissions will close on 10 June.
Once verified, reimbursements will be completed within seven days. Anyone without a form can email the team.
Not the first time!
This isn’t Alex Protocol’s first exploit though. In May 2024, the project lost $4.3 million after a cross-chain bridge attack – Linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
The team collaborated with on-chain analyst ZachXBT to trace stolen funds across three wallets, though full recovery remains unclear still.
Despite recurring security concerns, broader confidence in the Stacks ecosystem hasn’t vanished.
In fact, AMBCrypto analysts predict that STX could recover and hit $0.89 in 2025, reflecting sustained investor confidence in the project’s long-term potential.
