The TAC Protocol token has risen by approximately 53% following a recent historic low two days ago, which resulted from an attack that forced validators to halt the network. The attacker gained access through a vulnerability and drained one account before the network was stopped.
The development team explained that the discovered vulnerability was a common flaw in the Cosmos EVM precompile layer, not within the blockchain's own code.
What the Attacker Actually Accessed
The hack was observed and noted on August 22 via an X account, where the chain announced an investigation into the vulnerability on its Cosmos side and plans to temporarily halt the chain following a decision by validators.
Two days later, the team reported that the attacker had drained one of the accounts, after which the network blocked all transactions at block 24,671,475.
According to TAC, the damage was localized, and only $TAC (the native token) was stolen before the chain halt. Notably, the stoppage occurred within minutes of the vulnerability being discovered, indicating a rise in attacks driven by previous incidents that affected assets of users connected to the network, not just the native token itself.
TAC Claims the Flaw Is Not Related to Its Own Infrastructure
TAC pointed to a bug outside its own codebase, and the team believes the vulnerability was actually in the Cosmos EVM precompile layer (a shared module), not in anything belonging to TAC, noting that several chains also use the same code.
This means the risks extend beyond TAC holders and affect anyone developing applications on the Cosmos EVM blockchain. Since the vulnerability is not only in TAC's code but in shared code, any fixes or disclosure timelines could impact not only TAC but other projects built on the Cosmos EVM blockchain as well.
Price Increase is a Bounce from Historic Lows
The token's recovery looks much stronger when viewed in percentage terms rather than monetary value. Before the attack, CoinMarketCap recorded TAC's all-time low at $0.001129 as of August 22, and the token has since recovered about 53% from that drop. Over the past 24 hours, its price has fluctuated between $0.001626 and $0.001894.
Despite the bounce, the token's position hasn't changed substantially. TAC's peak from June 30 of $0.06688 now seems unattainable, and the token is down 97.4% from its all-time high.
At the time of writing, its market cap is approximately $8.3 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.46 million and a CoinMarketCap ranking of #1007. There are about 4.8 billion tokens in circulation.
The past few months have been tough for $TAC: the platform has already experienced its third major incident in four months. In May, an attacker stole about $2.8 million from the TON side of a cross-chain bridge, affecting USDT, BLUM, and tsTON balances.
TAC reclassified the incident as a 'white-hat' activity after recovering about 90% of the funds (the exploiter kept 10% as a reward) and resumed transfers between TON and TAC on June 10.
The calm didn't last long, and on July 7, the token dropped about 82% to around $0.0056 without explanation. By August, just before the hack, TAC was already weakened and struggling, so the 53% bounce from the minimum level still leaves the token near record lows.
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