ZKsync Hit by $5 Million Exploit from Compromised Airdrop Admin Account

• ZKsync lost $5 million in ZK tokens after an admin account handling airdrop funds was hacked.
• The attack caused ZK’s price to drop nearly 20% as the hacker sold stolen tokens on the market.
• User funds remained safe, and ZKsync plans to release a detailed incident report after investigations.

ZKsync, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution developed by Matter Labs, has confirmed a security incident involving the theft of approximately $5 million worth of its native token, ZK. The breach occurred after an attacker accessed an admin account managing unclaimed tokens from ZKsync’s previous airdrop. The exploit surfaced on April 15, 2025, and led to a decline in the ZK token’s market value, with prices falling nearly 20% in the immediate aftermath.

According to an official statement from the ZKsync security team, the breach resulted from compromised credentials tied to the admin account responsible for overseeing leftover airdrop tokens. The attacker reportedly took control of the unclaimed tokens from last year’s airdrop event and moved them out of the contract.

The project clarified that while the admin account was compromised, the core ZKsync protocol, including its smart contract infrastructure, remained secure. No user funds were impacted during the attack. The breach only affected the allocation of unclaimed tokens designated for distribution during the token airdrop.

The ZKsync team claimed on social media that user assets on the platform were safe during the incident and that they had implemented the required security measures after the attack. They also stated that a thorough incident report would be made public after the investigation.

Price Drops Nearly 20% After Attack

Following news of the breach, the market responded swiftly. Data from The Block showed that the ZK token experienced a sharp price drop of nearly 20% around 13:50 UTC, aligning with attack reports. The price decline was likely driven by the attacker liquidating the stolen tokens on the open market.

As of the latest update, the ZK token traded approximately 15% lower on the day. Launched in June 2024, it has a total supply of 21 billion tokens. Its price had already faced volatility due to prior criticism surrounding its initial airdrop event.

Airdrop Faced Criticism Over Distribution Practices

Last year, the ZK token’s airdrop attracted attention for its scale but also faced backlash from certain aspects of the crypto community. Critics raised concerns about perceived inequities in token distribution and the project’s failure to filter out Sybil farmers, users who create multiple wallets to maximize airdrop rewards.

The stolen funds in this breach originated from the pool of unclaimed tokens left over from this airdrop. Despite the controversy surrounding the distribution process, the team behind ZKsync maintained that the security of the protocol and token smart contract remained intact.

Incident Adds Pressure to ZKsync Amid Previous Scrutiny

The recent breach adds further scrutiny to ZKsync, which has already been under pressure due to community concerns about transparency and token allocation practices. The project was developed as a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, aiming to provide faster and cheaper transactions through zero-knowledge roll-up technology.

The company behind ZKsync, Matter Labs , has only confirmed that user funds are safe and promised a thorough report on the incident. In response, the project concentrated on assuring the community that no further tokens were in danger of being compromised and that the protocol remained unaffected.