DeFi lenders lose more than $84 million in price-manipulation attacks

Two decentralized finance lenders suffered more than $84 million in losses over four days after malicious actors used variations of a price-manipulation strategy previously targeted by US financial regulators. The larger incident affected Tectonic, a lending protocol on the Cronos blockchain. Security firm GoPlus estimated that approximately $75 million was involved in the Tectonic exploit. Moonwell’s MAMO lending market was hit three days earlier in a separate incident. The attacks highlight the risks that price-manipulation techniques pose to DeFi lending markets, particularly where lending activity depends on asset valuations. CryptoSlate reported the incidents and linked them to a method that regulators have already warned about. The related assets include Cronos (CRO), Tectonic (TONIC), and MAMO, among others. The source material does not provide further details on the attackers, the assets involved in the Moonwell incident, or any recovery efforts.