GMX V1 Platform Exploited for $40 Million Due to Design Vulnerability, Forcing Protocol to Suspend Trading and Mint Tokens to Prevent Risk Spread.
The decentralized exchange (DEX) GMX has become the latest victim in a series of security attacks related to the cryptocurrency asset sector. A critical vulnerability in the V1 version of the protocol was exploited, leading to estimated damages of around $40 million.
The incident occurred on 07/09, forcing the GMX development team to immediately suspend all trading activities and token minting on GMX V1 to prevent the risk of further damage. This incident once again raises an alarm about persistent security risks in the decentralized financial space.
According to initial analysis from blockchain security company SlowMist, the primary cause stems from a design flaw in GMX V1. The attacker exploited this vulnerability to manipulate the price of the liquidity provider token (GLP) by adjusting the calculation mechanism for total Assets Under Management (AUM) in a liquidity pool on the Arbitrum network, which contains collateralized assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins.
GMX affirms that the exploit is limited to version V1 and does not affect activities on V2 or the GMX token. However, the platform still decided to temporarily suspend minting and redeeming GLP tokens on both Arbitrum and Avalanche networks as a necessary precautionary measure.
This is not an isolated incident but part of an increasing trend of attacks on the cryptocurrency asset market in 2025. Just in the first half of this year, total losses from hacks have reached $2.5 billion, notably the historic attack on Bybit in February, which resulted in a loss of $1.4 billion.
The attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and organized. In June, Nobitex - Iran's largest exchange, also suffered a loss of over $81 million due to an attack by a politically motivated hacker group. In this context, regulatory agencies have also become more aggressive.
The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the United States recently imposed sanctions on Song Kum Hyok, an individual allegedly a member of a North Korea-backed hacker group specializing in using social engineering to infiltrate cryptocurrency asset companies from the inside.
