The incident adds to a grim 2025 for crypto investors, with $2.5 billion lost to hacks and scams in the first half of the year.
The team behind decentralized lender CrediX has vanished days after a $4.5 million exploit, leaving its X account inactive and website offline since Aug. 4, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
The sudden disappearance has sparked fears of an exit scam, which is when developers abandon a project and investor funds without warning.
The $4.5 million loss has been tied to a compromised admin wallet and abuse of bridge roles, which allowed an attacker to mint unbacked tokens and drain liquidity pools.
The exploiter moved funds from Sonic to Ethereum, parking them across a handful of addresses. In the hours after the attack, CrediX promised to reimburse users within 24-48 hours and directed withdrawals through contracts, but the front end never returned and no recovery plan has been published.
The exploit and perceived exit scam marks another tough day for crypto investors in 2025, with the total amount lost to hacks and scams totaling $2.5 billion in the first half of this year.
