Crypto Hacks Continue: Ostium Exploit Raises Concerns Over Instant Settlement

Ostium, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Arbitrum, has been hit by an $18M oracle exploit. The incident led to trading being paused, with user positions remaining open and unmodifiable.

The security firm Blockaid reported that the attacker manipulated the oracle pricing system of an Ostium vault, tricking it into thinking a massive trading win had occurred. This allowed the hacker to move $18M worth of USDC from the vault.

In response to the exploit, BackPack's Amramni Ferrante recommended that crypto platforms 'kill instant settlement' to deal with rising hacks. Ferrante argued that every exchange and protocol should implement mandatory withdrawal delays to prevent similar incidents.