May’s DeFi Hack Tally Grows as Verus Bridge Reportedly Loses $11.58 Million

The tally of decentralized finance (DeFi) exploits in May continued to climb after the Verus-Ethereum Bridge reportedly suffered a security breach, with attackers draining roughly $11.58 million in digital assets.

Multiple blockchain security firms flagged the exploit on Monday, warning users about suspicious activity linked to the bridge.

Verus-Ethereum Bridge Reportedly Drained for $11.58 Million in May Exploit

Blockchain security company Blockaid flagged the exploit in a post on X.  Security researchers identified the attacker’s externally owned account (EOA) as 0x5aBb91B9c01A5Ed3aE762d32B236595B459D5777.

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Blockchain security platform PeckShield said the attacker drained approximately 103.6 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC from the bridge. Moreover, the stolen assets were swapped into 5,402.4 ETH, valued at around $11.4 million. The funds remain in the wallet: 0x65Cb8b128Bf6e690761044CCECA422bb239C25F9.

“The attacker’s address was initially funded with 1 ETH via Tornado Cash ~14 hours ago,” the post read.

Meanwhile, the Verus loss arrives three days after THORChain halted trading. A breach of one vault reportedly drained over $10 million in protocol-owned funds. THORChain said user balances were not affected.

“THORChain contributors are still actively investigating the recent incident alongside THORSec and external security partners. More information will be shared as the investigation progresses,” the team said.

DeFiLlama data shows that 12 DeFi protocols were hit in May 2026 before Verus. Collective losses already top $20 million this month.

April 2026 set the year’s benchmark, with protocols losing more than $606 million across 12 incidents. The KelpDAO bridge drain alone accounted for $292 million, making it 2026’s largest single hack.

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