Earlier today, on September 2nd, Bunni DEX, a decentralized exchange built on Uniswap V4, was hit by a cyberattack that stole $2.4M.
The attacker exploited a weakness in Bunni’s custom liquidity model, known as the Liquidity Distribution Function, by making trades of specific sizes.
The bug led to wrong rebalancing figures and allowed repeated withdrawals. The loss shows how hard it is to secure decentralised platforms and why investors and builders must tighten controls now.
What happened to Bunni?
Bunni sits on top of Uniswap V4, and it does not use the standard Uniswap rules. Instead, it runs its own liquidity curve. This curve is the LDF, and after every trade, Bunni checks the LDF.
If the curve changed, the system would recalculate how much extra liquidity existed and rebalance the pool. The attacker found a way to game that check.
They made trades sized to break the rebalance math, and the calculation returned wrong shares for liquidity providers. That error let the exploiter pull out more tokens than they were due.
By repeating the attack, the bad actor drained $2.4M from the pool.
Also Read: DEXX Hackers Launder 6,432 ETH Worth Over $10 Million Through Tornado Cash Protocol
Why this matters for DeFi?
Decentralised finance relies on smart contracts and code, and there is no central gatekeeper. That makes fixes slow and, at times, messy.
When a protocol adds custom features, it can also add new risks. Third-party audits help, but they do not catch every issue. Developers and auditors share the duty to spot tricky edge cases. Until that improves, attacks like this will keep happening.
A wider pattern of breaches
This Bunni case is not unique, as in recent months, several DeFi projects have faced major losses. UnoCrypto reported that Cetus Protocol on the Sui network lost about $260M in one breach.
Attacks range from smart contract bugs to cross-chain exploits. The variety shows how many different paths hackers can use to reach funds.
Impact on users and insurers
Many DeFi users assume their money is safe if a project looks solid. That is not always true.
Some platforms carry insurance, but coverage varies. When funds vanish quickly, users can be left with little recourse.
The lack of a central authority also complicates recovery efforts and legal action.
Pressure from institutional demand
At the same time, big players are eyeing blockchain infrastructure. Jan Van Eck, CEO of VanEck, says Ethereum is set to become a choice platform for stablecoin payments as banks add blockchain tools in the next year.Â
Ethereum has strong developer support and many tools for token work. If banks and institutions move in, DeFi projects will face higher expectations. They will need to meet the security and governance standards that larger customers demand.
The Bunni attack is a reminder that decentralisation brings new responsibilities. Innovation and risk travel together. As DeFi grows, the industry needs better tools, better audits, and better contingency plans.
Also Read: DEXX Hack Confirmed as External Breach with Response Efforts While Compensation Efforts Earn Praise