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Kyber Network cuts 50% of its staff following $48 million exploit

Dec. 26, 2023

The DeFi firm vowed to reimburse users after rejecting the hacker's demands to get full control over the company.

Kyber Network cuts 50% of its staff following $48 million exploit

On December 24, Victor Tran, CEO and co-founder of Kyber Network, announced a 50% workforce reduction following a massive security breach in November. The decision is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to rebuild its operation post-exploit.

In addition to the challenging step of downsizing, Kyber temporarily halted its liquidity protocol initiatives and KyberAI to ensure sustainability. However, the company’s core aggregator and limit order functions remain fully operational. Tran emphasized that the Kyber Network will continue to exist and develop despite recent challenges.

In the past month, KyberSwap has faced unprecedented challenges due to the Elastic exploit. Despite this, I am grateful to say that our core business, including the Aggregator and Limit Order functions, remains robust.

Moreover, we will soon be launching our Zap API, an…

— Victor Tran (@vutran54) December 25, 2023

The company also revealed plans to launch the Zap API, a new service that will allow decentralized applications, crypto wallets, and other DeFi projects to conveniently bridge their users to liquidity protocols.

Tran further stated that Kyber Network is creating a ‘voluntary database’ to support departing members in finding new career opportunities and linking them with peer projects in the industry.

Last month, Kyber Network disclosed that its decentralized exchange (DEX), KyberSwap Elastic, had been targeted in an attack. This exploit led to a confirmed loss of over $48 million in crypto assets.

Following the successful asset seizure, the hacker issued a series of demands. These included taking complete company operational control and assuming temporary ownership of its governance mechanism, the KyberDAO. Additionally, the hacker wanted access to comprehensive financial details, investor information, employee salaries, and other aspects relevant to the operations of the Kyber Network.

However, the Kyber team rejected the demands. They pledged to fully compensate affected users through the KyberSwap Elastic Exploit Treasury Grant Program. Furthermore, Kyber Network said it is collaborating with authorities to identify the hacker and recover the stolen funds.

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