Why was Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) exploited?

Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) was exploited because a vulnerable smart contract failed to verify the source of inbound transfers before minting tokens. This flaw allowed an attacker to create unbacked assets and steal approximately US$4.67 million from escrowed funds.

What does the Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) “infinite mint” bug mean?

Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) experienced an “infinite mint” bug that allowed an attacker to generate wrapped tokens without depositing real assets. The attacker then redeemed those unbacked tokens for legitimate assets, creating losses estimated at US$4.67 million.

How is Axelar (CRYPTO:AXL) connected to the Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) exploit?

Axelar (CRYPTO:AXL) was connected because the affected assets were Axelar-wrapped tokens held in escrow on Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT). Axelar stated that its network was not compromised and that the vulnerable smart contract was not developed or maintained by Axelar.

What are the stolen assets in the Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) exploit?

Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) lost assets including saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH. The attacker moved the funds to Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), converted them into Ether and distributed them across about 30 wallets before sending some funds to exchanges.

What does the Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) exploit mean for token holders?

Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) said holders of affected Axelar-bridged tokens may face losses because the backing of some assets was compromised. The network also stated that its native SCRT token was not directly affected by the US$4.67 million exploit.

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Secret Network exploit mints $4.7M assets

Written by Heidi Cuthbert Published Jun 22, 2026, 5:10 AM

An attacker exploited a smart contract flaw on Secret Network to mint unbacked assets and steal approximately US$4.67 million.
The incident affected Axelar-wrapped assets held in escrow, while Secret Network's native SCRT token was not directly impacted.
The exploit highlights ongoing security risks in cross-chain infrastructure as crypto protocol attacks continue across the sector.

Secret Network (CRYPTO:SCRT) suffered a US$4.67 million exploit after an attacker used an “infinite mint” vulnerability to create unbacked Axelar-wrapped assets and redeem them for real assets held in escrow.

The exploit occurred on June 10 but remained undetected until June 17 when a failed cross-chain transaction triggered an investigation, according to blockchain research firm Common Prefix, making it one of at least 22 crypto protocol exploits reported this month.

“If you hold Axelar-bridged saXXX tokens on Secret, please be aware their backing was affected, and your funds may be lost,” said Secret Network.

The attacker minted unbacked versions of assets including saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH after exploiting a smart contract that failed to verify the source of inbound transfers before issuing new tokens.

The stolen assets were moved to the Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) blockchain, converted into Ether and distributed across about 30 wallets before being deposited into exchanges including KuCoin, ChangeNow and HitBTC, while SCRT was trading around US$0.058 following the incident and Axelar (CRYPTO:AXL) was trading near US$0.045. Following the announcement the Secret Network share price was unchanged at $0.058.

Secret Network is a privacy-focused layer-1 blockchain built within the Cosmos ecosystem, while Axelar operates an interoperability network designed to connect different blockchain ecosystems and facilitate cross-chain asset transfers.

Axelar later stated that neither its network nor the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol had been compromised and said the affected token contract was not developed, deployed or maintained by Axelar, adding that its security measures prevented the incident from spreading to other chains.

At the time of reporting, Secret price was $0.0576.

Secret Network exploit mints $4.7M assets

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