Arbitrum-based AFX Trade drained of $24 million after bridge keys compromised

Security firms said the attacker used enough hot-validator signatures to approve a 24.15 million USDC withdrawal, while Arbitrum said its native bridge was not affected.

Melinda 2 hours ago 3 minutes read

Arbitrum-based AFX Trade drained of $24 million after bridge keys compromised

Security firms said the attacker used enough hot-validator signatures to approve a 24.15 million USDC withdrawal, while Arbitrum said its native bridge was not affected.

By Shaurya Malwa

Jul 23, 2026, 5:01 a.m.

2 min read

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Arbitrum-based AFX Trade drained of $24 million after bridge keys compromised. (Kevin Ku/Unsplash)

Summary

AFX Trade, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum that settles in USDC, was drained of about $24.15 million after an attacker compromised validator signing keys for a bridge the protocol operates.
Arbitrum’s native bridge was not breached, and security firm Blockaid said the on-chain logic functioned as designed, with five hot-validator signatures meeting the quorum needed to authorize the withdrawal.
The attacker moved the stolen USDC to Ethereum and swapped it for roughly 12,467 ETH, nearly emptying AFX’s total value locked amid a broader wave of high-profile crypto hacks on Arbitrum-based protocols.