Initia stopped its layer-1 network at 06:18 UTC on November 10 after detecting unauthorized transfers from escrow accounts that hold assets bridged to several rollups. The halt was carried out with validator coordination, and the team said it was a protective measure while it investigates the incident.
The project attributed the latest breach to compromised rollup infrastructure keys that allegedly allowed an attacker to fabricate IBC transfers. Initia said at least $615,000 was moved off-chain, while claiming that most of the assets taken from escrow still remain on the Initia chain.
Second incident in a short span
The latest attack came less than three weeks after Initia’s previous exploit in October. In that earlier incident, a script caching bug allowed an attacker to spoof the MoveVM state and credit themselves with unbacked WETH, iUSD, and USDC tokens.
That first breach resulted in losses of about $2.7 million bridged to Ethereum. Initia responded by halting both the main chain and its rollups, and the network later resumed operations on November 2.
Losses now exceed remaining TVL
When combined, the two incidents amount to roughly $3.3 million in losses in under three weeks. According to the source report, that figure is now greater than Initia’s remaining total value locked.
The report also said the chain’s TVL has fallen by more than 90% from its peak shortly after Initia launched in May last year. That decline has sharpened attention on the project’s operational and security controls following back-to-back disruptions.
Team account of the latest exploit
In its public update, Initia said the problem centered on escrow accounts on the L1 that back assets bridged to multiple rollups. The team said unauthorized transfers were identified before the chain was halted.
According to Initia’s account, the attacker used compromised infrastructure keys tied to rollups to fabricate IBC transfers. The project said at least $615,000 had already been moved off-chain, but maintained that most of the escrowed assets affected by the incident remain on Initia.
Market reaction and what comes next
The second exploit triggered a hostile response from parts of the community, with some users calling for the chain to shut down and others accusing the team of an inside job. Those claims reflect user reaction rather than established findings.
At the same time, Initia’s INIT token was reported to be up about 60% over the previous 24 hours, prompting some frustrated users to speculate about a so-called crime pump. The immediate confirmed next step is the ongoing investigation that followed the Nov. 10 halt, with the network paused while the team and validators assess the breach.
Source: protos.com