Written by Ezra Reguerrastaff writerReviewed by Robert Lakinstaff editor

Written by Ezra Reguerrastaff writer

Reviewed by Robert Lakinstaff editor

Cronos halts network after Tectonic exploit involving estimated $75M

Latest NewsPublishedAug 31, 2026

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek stated the company’s app and exchange were unaffected by the Tectonic breach and continued operating normally.

Cronos halted its blockchain after an exploit targeting decentralized lending protocol Tectonic involved an estimated $75 million, most of which remains on the Cronos network at the time of writing. 

On Sunday, Cronos stated it identified an exploit in Tectonic and halted the network, promising updates. Tectonic separately warned users not to interact with the protocol while it investigated. Neither project has verified the cause or loss, and no restart timeline had been revealed at publication.

Researcher Weilin Li stated the attacker exploited TONIC’s 20% collateral factor and thin liquidity, pumping the governance token’s price 100-fold within 20 minutes before borrowing other assets. Li described it as a “Mango-market style” pump-and-borrow attack. 

Li initially estimated $66 million was affected. He stated the attacker bridged about $6 million to Ethereum before the halt, leaving $60 million on Cronos. Li later identified another attacker-controlled address holding about $8 million, bringing his estimated loss to roughly $75 million. 

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek stated the company’s app and exchange were unaffected and operating normally, adding that funds there were safe. 

Cronos and Tectonic have not stated whether they will restrict the attacker’s addresses, recover the assets or compensate affected users. Cointelegraph contacted both projects and Crypto.com for comment. 

Related: Galaxy puts Coldcard hack losses at 1,789 BTC, with 87% unmoved

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

• Hackers
• Hacks
• Crypto.com
• Blockchain

More on the subject

Polygon discloses security flaws fixed in recent hard forks

Aug 29, 2026

Nate Kostar

Stellar tokenized RWA market more than quadruples to nearly $4B

Aug 29, 2026

Nate Kostar

Solana validators approve proposal to accelerate SOL disinflation

Aug 28, 2026

Nate Kostar

Polygon discloses security flaws fixed in recent hard forks

Aug 29, 2026

Nate Kostar

Stellar tokenized RWA market more than quadruples to nearly $4B

Aug 29, 2026

Nate Kostar

Solana validators approve proposal to accelerate SOL disinflation

Aug 28, 2026

Nate Kostar