XPR Network, a layer 1 blockchain, suffered a significant exploit after an attacker drained approximately 1.56 billion XPR worth $4.03 million from proton.swaps. According to reports from AMBCrypto, the attacker exploited a flaw in the withdrawal function that accepted negative amounts, enabling manipulation of internal balances before withdrawing real tokens. The attacker then applied this technique across multiple asset pools including XUSDC, XMD, METAL, LOAN, and bridged assets, stealing more than $9 million in liquidity within just 11 minutes of the attack launch. Following the initial exploit, the attacker moved 563 million XPR worth $1.46 million through the LOAN protocol after borrowing against stolen stablecoins, bringing the total XPR touched to approximately 2.12 billion tokens, representing 6.5% of the circulating supply. As reported by AMBCrypto, of the 2.12 billion XPR affected, about 1.80 billion remained in attacker-controlled accounts, while only 319.5 million XPR reached external venues. Network producers identified the exploit and patched the contract at 21:32 UTC, then seized the 1.80 billion XPR at 23:26 UTC and placed it under community control.
The attacker's movement of funds after the exploit provides a clearer picture of the damage and recovery prospects. Following the initial exploit, the attacker moved 764 million XPR worth approximately $1.98 million and 150,000 METAL worth about $195,000 to another account, as reported by AMBCrypto. This additional movement brought the total XPR touched to approximately 2.12 billion tokens. The funds' movement after the exploit offers a clearer picture of the damage and recovery prospects, with most affected funds remaining recoverable. The incident demonstrates how weak input validation can quickly amplify losses across interconnected liquidity pools, but the limited external movement of funds allowed producers to take action prior to any additional XPR leaving the network.
The on-chain drain quickly affected XPR's price action, with sellers taking control as confidence weakened. According to AMBCrypto, XPR traded near $0.00276 on September 11th before falling sharply to an intraday low near $0.00242, marking a decline of about 6.5%. The sell-off pushed the price below the $0.00271 support level, with RSI falling to 27.47, placing XPR in oversold territory and showing heavy selling pressure. However, buyers stepped in after the drop, lifting XPR back toward $0.00259, though that rebound remained limited because the token traded below the $0.00271 support level. Trading activity increased significantly, with turnover approaching $4 million, signaling renewed buying interest despite the oversold conditions.
With most funds secured through the producer action, the focus now shifts to whether XPR can rebuild liquidity and user confidence. As reported by AMBCrypto, the incident demonstrates how weak input validation can quickly amplify losses across interconnected liquidity pools. The recovery efforts will depend on XPR's ability to reclaim the $0.00271 support level and stabilize sentiment among users. XPR stabilized near $0.00261–$0.00262 on September 13th, suggesting selling pressure had eased, and the increased trading activity with turnover approaching $4 million signals renewed buying interest. However, sustained recovery requires sustained price action above current levels, with the token's ability to reclaim the $0.00271 support level being crucial for long-term confidence restoration.
