Cosmos restarted to seize $2.2 million in stolen ATOM, but 169,000 tokens still escaped
Summary
Cosmos Hub resumed block production after a nearly day-long halt, sweeping about 1.23 million ATOM worth $2.2 million from an address linked to an exploit on Neutron. The funds are held in a community validator multisig for eventual return. The attack exploited an expedited governance proposal that reassigned control of 11 Neutron smart contracts, enabling withdrawals; estimates of initial losses range from $4.4 million to $9.3 million. Although rate limits and halts protected some assets, about 168,991 ATOM returned through THORChain after the sweep and was later sold for roughly 266,841 USDC. Neutron contributors prepared an upgrade to restore affected contracts and tighten governance before restarting the chain and returning assets.
