Berachain Recovers $12.8M Lost in BEX Exploit, HONEY Minting Resumes

Foundation confirms full recovery, praises white hat’s cooperation, and outlines next steps for user fund distribution

The Berachain Foundation has officially confirmed the recovery of approximately $12.8 million lost in the recent BEX / Balancer v2 exploit, marking a major relief for the ecosystem.

In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the team announced that the full amount has been returned to the Berachain Foundation Deployer, and that HONEY minting and redemption have resumed.

“We’re happy to confirm that all funds from the exploit have been returned. The chain is live again,” the foundation stated.

A White Hat Turns the Tide

The Berachain team credited a white hat hacker for working closely with them to ensure the safe return of funds.

As a sign of gratitude, the foundation confirmed it will remove the malicious label on the white hat’s wallet and consider a bounty as appreciation.

This move highlights Berachain’s ongoing commitment to collaboration and transparency, especially in critical recovery events.

Temporary Limitations Across BEX

Following the exploit, Berachain paused multiple BEX functionalities, including swaps, deposits, and withdrawals. Although HONEY operations have resumed, BEX remains partially restricted as the team continues to assess the Balancer v2 issue.

“We expect irregularities in reported APRs and rewards across the chain,” the team noted, adding that BGT incentives had not been distributed for 24 hours.

Despite this, core infrastructure remains intact, with the foundation working alongside RPC, oracle, and block explorer providers to restore full functionality.

Tracking the Recovery Process

Berachain confirmed there were over 1,000 depositors across the affected pools, including iBERA and USDe, with varying levels of concentration.

The team is now developing a system to attribute deposits to their original wallet addresses and distribute recovered assets accordingly.

This step-by-step approach ensures that user funds are returned safely, without risking further exposure during the recovery process.

“Please bear with us as we ensure that this is carried out in a diligent and safe manner over the coming days,” Berachain wrote.

Non-Exploited Deposits Still Locked

While affected pools are being handled carefully, Berachain emphasized that non-exploited deposits in the BEX remain locked for now.

The move, they said, is out of an abundance of caution until the root cause of the Balancer exploit is fully understood.

The team also stated it would follow Balancer’s lead and resume withdrawals only when all risk vectors are cleared.

This cautious stance mirrors similar steps taken by major DeFi protocols after vulnerabilities, prioritizing user safety over speed.

The exploit’s resolution has sparked renewed optimism among Berachain users and liquidity providers. The team’s swift coordination, transparency, and engagement with white hats have been widely praised across social channels.

The crypto community’s response has been largely positive. Developers and traders commended Berachain’s open communication and technical diligence, contrasting it with slower or opaque responses seen in past DeFi exploits.

A Lesson in DeFi Governance

Incidents like the Balancer v2 exploit underline how DeFi security is not just code-deep, it’s also about governance, coordination, and community trust.

By swiftly involving legal counsel, collaborating with a white hat, and publicly committing to a structured recovery plan, Berachain sets a new precedent for crisis management in decentralized systems.

It’s a reminder that in a space defined by code and contracts, trust is still the ultimate collateral.

Berachain says it will release a more detailed communication once infrastructure providers and on-chain data syncs are fully restored.

In the meantime, users are encouraged to monitor the official Berachain X handle and stay alert for wallet distribution updates.

As the foundation puts it:

“We’re doing our best to be diligent and communicative. Full functionality across the chain will be restored soon.”

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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