Aptos Patches Critical Flaw That Put $70 Billion in Assets at Risk

Aptos (APT) has patched a ‘critical’ vulnerability in its Move virtual machine that security researchers warned could have exposed up to $70 billion in digital assets to systemic risk, underscoring how quickly smart contract platforms must respond as stablecoins and cross-chain bridges scale.

According to CoinDesk, white-hat researchers at security firm Hexens identified what they described as an ‘expired cache’ issue in late February and privately reported it to the Aptos development team. The flaw could have triggered a type-confusion scenario—effectively causing the system to misinterpret on-chain resources—an error class that can lead to unintended behavior in permissionless execution environments.

Hexens said its simulation, designed to mirror real network conditions, achieved an attack success rate above 90%. Researchers claimed they were able to emulate roughly one-third of the validator network using a single server costing about $3,000, and emphasized that the exploit would not have required insider access or special privileges. Aptos reportedly issued a fix soon after the report, and no loss of funds has been disclosed.

The headline risk was concentrated around stablecoin rails and cross-chain bridge infrastructure—areas that tend to aggregate liquidity and, in turn, attract sophisticated attackers. Analysts generally view bridges as ‘high-value choke points’ because they connect ecosystems and often custody significant pooled collateral. While the Aptos incident ended without losses, it arrives amid heightened scrutiny of blockchain security as exploits increasingly combine technical weaknesses with rapid liquidity movement across chains.

In a separate development, an attacker linked to the Step Finance incident reportedly reactivated a wallet that had been dormant for five months, selling about $21.4 million worth of Solana (SOL) and moving proceeds to Ethereum (ETH) before depositing the funds into Tornado Cash. PANews, citing Lookonchain monitoring, said the wallet sold 261,933 SOL, bridged the capital to Ethereum, and bought 12,128 ETH, which was then sent to the privacy mixer—a service frequently referenced in discussions of ‘fund obfuscation’ following major hacks.

Regulators also moved on alleged crypto-related fraud in Vietnam. PANews reported on July 5 that Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security seized more than 350 kilograms of gold and silver and froze transactions across roughly 300 bank accounts in an investigation tied to the ONUS crypto platform. Authorities also froze transactions linked to eight real-estate properties involving about 200 billion Vietnamese dong.

Investigators allege the scheme exploited public unfamiliarity with crypto beginning in 2018, using app-based digital accounts and circular transactions between affiliated entities to lure investors before misappropriating funds. Cumulative sales between 2018 and 2021 reportedly exceeded 7 trillion dong. Police said user accounts connected to the case total around 5 million, with more than 2,000 public tips received, while authorities continue to probe potential accomplices—including influencers—and pursue recovery of suspected illicit proceeds.

On the corporate front, Wu Blockchain cited DigitalToday as reporting that OKX Ventures—an affiliate of crypto exchange OKX—has acquired a 20% stake in South Korea-based exchange Coinone, becoming one of its three largest shareholders. Coinone is expected to integrate OKX’s matching engine, custody, and wallet technology to strengthen trading infrastructure, compliance systems, and institutional-facing services—an illustration of how exchanges are increasingly pursuing ‘infrastructure-led’ partnerships to compete on reliability and regulatory readiness.

In tax and legal policy, South Africa’s revenue authority released a draft set of crypto tax guidelines on July 1, opening a consultation period through August 31, according to ODaily. The draft treats cryptocurrencies as ‘intangible assets’ rather than foreign currency or legal tender. It would not tax unrealized gains from holding, but would impose taxation when assets are disposed of. The guidance further outlines that profits may be treated as ordinary income—subject to marginal rates of 18% to 45%—if activity resembles business trading or short-term speculation, while longer-term disposals may fall under capital gains tax with an effective rate of 18% to 36% for individuals. Crypto-to-crypto swaps are framed as barter transactions, requiring valuation at local market prices at the time of exchange.

Meanwhile, prediction-market firms including Kalshi are facing legal disputes across multiple U.S. states as regulators challenge the scope of their operations and jurisdictional claims, ODaily reported. Proceedings are ongoing in Nevada and Michigan, with in-person arguments taking place in Minnesota. Some observers say the disputes could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, reflecting the unsettled boundary between state-level oversight and broader federal frameworks for novel financial products. North Carolina is also said to be moving closer to imposing state taxes on prediction-market profits.

In Ethereum ecosystem funding, the Ethereum Foundation transferred about 2,469 staked Ether (stETH)—worth roughly $4.34 million—to nonprofit developer group Argot Collective, PANews reported, citing on-chain monitoring by analyst Yu Jin. The payment was described as fourth-year operational support. The foundation previously provided 7,000 ETH in July last year for three years of funding; Argot later sold 4,826.6 ETH at an average price of $3,194, converting proceeds into about 15.417 million USDC. Yu Jin added that an additional 2,469 stETH is expected to be paid in July next year as the final fifth-year support tranche.

Whale activity also drew attention after Whale Alert flagged a transfer of 190,571,760 USDC—worth roughly $190.6 million—from Aave to an anonymous wallet. The purpose of the move was not immediately clear, though large stablecoin transfers are often associated with exchange funding, liquidity rebalancing, or preparations for over-the-counter transactions.

On-chain metrics showed Solana gaining momentum. ODaily, citing analyst Aiemo, reported that Solana posted 31.38 million active addresses over the past seven days, a 38% increase year over year and the highest among public blockchains over that period. Transaction counts rose 9.8% and fees climbed 38%, suggesting both broad engagement and higher economic activity. Separately, ODaily noted rising interest in BSC-related meme coins after comments attributed to Changpeng Zhao circulated among market participants.

In broader market action, Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded above $63,000, according to Watcher.Guru. Traders continue to watch key technical levels as short-term positioning and sentiment remain sensitive to breakout—or rejection—around major price thresholds across the crypto complex.