$7.6M Rhea Finance Hack: Attack Details and Tether’s Response

Part of the stolen USDT has already been frozen by Tether.

Rhea Finance hack: DeFi platform loses over $7.6M

17.04.2026 - 10:45

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2 min

Key points:

Rhea Finance was hacked, with roughly $7.6 million drained from the platform.
The attacker used fake tokens and exploited weaknesses in the protocol’s validation mechanisms.

Rhea Finance, a NEAR-based DeFi platform, has suffered a security breach. According to CertiK, total losses are estimated at around $7.6 million.

Analysts say the attacker created fake tokens and added liquidity to newly created pools. This allowed them to bypass validation checks and withdraw funds from the protocol. The suspected attacker’s address on NEAR has already been identified.

Source: X.com

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze approximately $3.29 million in USDT linked to the incident shortly after the attack.

Platform Pauses Operations

The Rhea team has temporarily halted smart contracts and launched an investigation. Developers said they are working with partners and security experts to minimize risks and assess the situation.

Shortly before the hack, on April 15, the team introduced a beta version of a multichain airdrop with token rewards.

The incident is part of a broader wave of attacks in 2026. According to CertiK, more than 100 security incidents and dozens of phishing attacks have been recorded since the start of the year.

Among the largest cases are the $285 million Drift Protocol hack, as well as attacks on Step Finance and Truebit, each resulting in losses exceeding $25 million. Total crypto industry losses since the beginning of the year are estimated at around $480 million.

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