Post-Mortem of the Venus THE Attack: How to Profit in a Fleeting Window?
Approximately two hours ago, Venus Protocol's THE token was exploited using a classic Mango Markets-style price manipulation attack. The attacker targeted THE, a low-liquidity collateral asset, by depositing it, borrowing other assets, and using those to buy more THE, artificially inflating its price. Once the time-weighted average oracle updated, the inflated price allowed further leveraged borrowing. To bypass THE's borrowing cap, the attacker performed a "donation attack" by transferring THE directly to the vTHE contract, increasing the recognized collateral value.
After the first manipulation phase, THE's price stabilized around $0.50. The attacker attempted to further amplify gains by continuing to buy THE, but mounting sell pressure limited price increases and pushed their health factor near 1.0, risking liquidation. The collateral, nominally valued around $30M, had extremely low liquidity, making large-scale liquidation at inflated prices impossible.
Recognizing the situation, the writer opened a short position on THE with high leverage, anticipating a price collapse due to overvaluation, illiquidity, and forced selling. After liquidation, THE price plummeted to ~$0.24, below its pre-attack level, resulting in a ~$15K profit for the writer. Venus Protocol was left with ~$2M in bad debt. The attacker likely gained little or lost funds, though may have profited from off-chain positions. The event highlights that nominal collateral value in DeFi does not equal realizable value during liquidity crises.
marsbit03/16 08:37
