TheBlock
Radiant Capital, the omnichain money market that lost roughly $51 million in an October 2024 exploit across its Arbitrum and BNB Chain instances, is winding down. The protocol announced Monday that it cannot recover meaningful funds from the attack or raise replacement capital, effectively ending an 18-month fight to stay solvent.
In a statement on X, the DAO said "effort alone is not enough without recovery, capital, or growth" and that "the DAO no longer has a viable path forward." Contributors and community members had continued operating the protocol under increasingly strained conditions while pursuing recovery, but the math no longer worked.
Why it matters
The October 2024 attack was one of the larger DeFi exploits of that year. An attacker deployed a backdoor contract to gain unauthorized access, draining roughly $51 million from Radiant's Arbitrum and BNB Chain deployments; the protocol's Ethereum and Base instances were not affected. It followed an earlier 2024 flash-loan attack that siphoned around 1,900 ETH, then worth about $4.5 million, compounding the protocol's losses.
Radiant is the latest in a lengthening list of DeFi protocols forced to wind down after a major exploit. When a project cannot recover stolen funds and cannot raise fresh capital to rebuild trust and liquidity, the only path left is orderly shutdown — exactly the scenario Radiant says it is now executing.
Market impact
Radiant will transition into a "maintenance state" in which the frontend and smart contracts remain live. Users can still withdraw, repay, and manage positions, and the team says any funds eventually recovered will be returned to affected users. That orderly unwind is the optimistic framing — depositors retain access, but the upside of the protocol is gone.
The broader read is grimmer. DeFi Llama reported the number of crypto hacks hit a record monthly high in April, with more than 20 exploits logged in a single month for what looks like the first time.
Frequently asked questions
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What happened to Radiant Capital?
Radiant Capital is winding down roughly 18 months after losing about $51 million in an October 2024 exploit across its Arbitrum and BNB Chain instances. The DAO said it cannot recover meaningful funds from the attack or raise replacement capital.
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How did the Radiant Capital hack happen?
In October 2024, an attacker deployed a backdoor contract to gain unauthorized access, draining roughly $51M from Radiant's Arbitrum and BNB Chain deployments. The protocol's Ethereum and Base instances were not affected.
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Can users still withdraw from Radiant Capital?
Yes. Radiant said it will transition into a maintenance state where the frontend and smart contracts remain live, and users can withdraw, repay, and manage positions. Any funds eventually recovered will be returned to affected users.
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Has Radiant Capital been hacked before?
Yes. The October 2024 attack followed an earlier 2024 flash-loan exploit that drained around 1,900 ETH, worth about $4.5 million at the time, compounding the protocol's losses.
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Are crypto hacks getting more frequent?
DeFi Llama reported that the number of crypto exploits hit a record monthly high in April, with more than 20 incidents logged in a single month for what appears to be the first time. The cumulative dollar amount stolen did not set records, but the frequency is climbing.
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