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- DeFi platform zkLend has announced it’s shutting down months after being hacked
- The platform attributed the resolution to the February hack and its native token being delisted from most major exchanges
- zkLend will give existing users time to withdraw their funds
DeFi platform zkLend has announced that it’s shutting down, four months after shedding shut to $10 million in a hack. zkLend attributed the pass to the February hack and its token, ZEND, being delisted from Bybit and diversified prime crypto replaces because of its failure to satisfy issues like trading volume and liquidity. The protocol noted this might presumably presumably allow existing users to shut their positions and withdraw their funds, alongside with that it’ll spend its $200,000 treasury balance to “abet affected users by diagram of the restoration fund.”
Hack Impacted User Self assurance
In an announcement, zkLend stated that the hack affected users’ self perception, main to decreased revenues as users shunned the platform. Mixed with ZEND delisting, it “tremendously” restricted the platform’s capacity to “successfully allocate [funds] toward any recent initiatives.”
Expensive zkLend Neighborhood,
It is miles with a heavy heart that we speak our resolution to wind down zkLend.
This resolution changed into now no longer made frivolously. Over most recent months, the exploit we suffered has deeply eroded consumer self perception, and furthermore, the latest removal of ZEND from most major exchanges…
— zkLend (@zkLend) June 25, 2025
To abet existing users in some unspecified time in the future of the wind-down course of, the platform stated its kSTRK, Restoration, and DeFiSprings portals will dwell accessible for users to either narrate or unstake their tokens.
zkLend can even proceed enticing blockchain sleuths like ZeroShadow to trace the hacked funds, noting that recovered funds will likely be returned to affected users. The protocol added that it’ll inaugurate-supply its codebase to allow fervent entities to proceed its pattern.
Hacker Did the Heavy Lifting for Scammers
zkLend’s attacker exploited a weak point in the protocol’s rounding characteristic. The hacker, alternatively, misplaced the funds to a Twister Cash rip-off when making an strive to pass the funds by diagram of coin mixing companies and products, extra complicating the restoration course of.
The DeFi protocol isn’t the first blockchain mission to shut down after a hack. Conic Finance and Harpie fill also made an analogous strikes this one year. Others like Alpaca Finance, alternatively, fill also announced an analogous strikes because of low usage, but now no longer a hack.
With zkLend shutting down, it’s unclear how it’ll reimburse hack victims in case it recovers the funds in the future.
