Midnight token rebounds 19% after Wanchain bridge hack, Hoskinson calls for ZK revamp

Key facts

• A Wanchain bridge exploit resulted in the theft of 290 million NIGHT tokens.
• The NIGHT token price dropped approximately 43% following the exploit.
• The token has since rebounded by nearly 19% within 24 hours.
• Charles Hoskinson cited legacy bridge architecture and AI-driven exploit discovery as contributing factors.
• Hoskinson promoted zero-knowledge systems as a solution to replace trust-based security in crypto.

The NIGHT token experienced a significant price drop of approximately 43% after a bridge exploit on the Wanchain network resulted in the theft of 290 million tokens. The token has since recovered nearly 19% in the subsequent 24 hours, trading around $0.022. Charles Hoskinson, CEO and Founder of Input Output, attributed the exploit to legacy bridge architecture and the accelerating pace of AI-powered vulnerability discovery across all software, including crypto. He argued that zero-knowledge systems, such as Midnight, offer a more secure long-term solution by replacing reliance on bridge operators and multisig setups with cryptographic proofs. Hoskinson noted the rebound in NIGHT's price, pushing back against coverage that focused solely on the crash. He described the incident as a "case of the Mondays" but acknowledged its seriousness in the broader context of escalating cyber threats. Bridge hacks have historically been a major source of losses in the crypto space, with incidents like Ronin, Wormhole, and Nomad collectively draining over $1.5 billion.