The Sandbox contains cross-chain bridge exploit after attackers mint unbacked SAND on Base and BNB Smart Chain
first published 2026-08-22T07:48:19Z
The Sandbox reported and patched a vulnerability in its SAND cross-chain bridge on Base and BNB Smart Chain after attackers hijacked LayerZero delegate permissions and minted unbacked SAND in an infinite mint exploit. Blockaid said nearly $49 billion face-value SAND was created across 400+ transactions, while exchanges suspended deposits and withdrawals and issued warnings. Ethereum and Polygon were unaffected, user wallets were not hacked, and The Sandbox said it will snapshot the network and compensate eligible liquidity providers.
AI Analysis
The summary describes an active exploit that minted unbacked tokens, triggered exchange suspensions, and required a snapshot and compensation plan. This is a direct security event affecting token integrity and market access, which is highly relevant for short-term trading.
Expected Investor Sentiment: Very Bearish
Potential Market Impact: High
Source Articles
- The Sandbox SAND Exploit: $49B in New Tokens Flood Base - Coinpedia
- SAND bridge exploit contained after unbacked token mint - Crypto News
- MANTRA Chain resumes blocks after Cosmos-EVM fix - Crypto News
- The Sandbox Says It Contained Bridge Exploit That Minted Unbacked SAND on Base and BSC - The Defiant
