$18.5M ADA Heist Remains Unsolved—Even Wallet Creator Has No Answers

Cardano News: On June 25, Charles Hoskinson revealed that the identity of the so-called white hat hacker who transferred 129 million ADA—valued at roughly $18.5 million—from vulnerable SecondFi wallets remains unknown, even to Emurgo, the company behind the platform.

During an X Spaces session titled “The Bingo Hall,” Hoskinson cited secondhand information from a contributor known as “Jer,” who attended a meeting involving Cardano governance group Intersect and SecondFi developers. According to Hoskinson, “A member of the Emurgo team said the identity of the white hat hacker is not known to Emurgo… or at least [Emurgo] said it is not affiliated with Emurgo.”

That distinction is significant, as it leaves open the possibility that Emurgo may either lack full visibility or is carefully managing its public stance.

Meanwhile, ADA has declined 21% over the past two weeks, currently trading near $0.145—levels not seen in years and nearly 95% below its all-time high.

Importantly, the breach did not compromise the Cardano protocol itself. Stakeholders, including Intersect and Hoskinson, have emphasized that the vulnerability was confined to the wallet application layer. Still, the reputational impact on the ecosystem has been substantial, with markets reflecting that damage.

SecondFi—one of the largest Cardano wallet generators, previously known as Yoroi Wallet—was found to have a critical flaw in its key-generation mechanism. Three separate attackers exploited the weakness, draining around 16 million ADA (approximately $2.4 million) from 374 addresses across four incidents.

The larger transfer of 129 million ADA, which remains at the center of the controversy, has been described by SecondFi as an emergency safeguard measure. The funds were reportedly moved to an independent third-party custodian to protect affected users. Cybersecurity firm SlowMist estimates that total exposure could exceed $20 million.

SecondFi captured a final balance snapshot on June 26 and has stated that it intends to reimburse affected users within two weeks. However, the company has cautioned that the timeline is not guaranteed and has advised users against moving funds to new wallets, warning that actions taken outside official guidance could introduce further risks.

Can Cardano Stabilize at $0.145?

ADA is currently hovering around $0.145, down 21% over two weeks and trading well below key technical indicators, including the 50-day EMA at $0.1904, the 100-day EMA at $0.2248, and the 200-day EMA at $0.3006.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 29, approaching oversold territory, while the MACD has turned slightly positive—suggesting waning bearish momentum but not yet confirming a reversal.

Immediate support lies at the $0.140 psychological level, with a structural floor near $0.1382. A daily close below $0.1451 would increase the likelihood of testing those lower levels.

On the upside, resistance is seen between $0.1726 and $0.1737, where a descending trendline intersects with the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level. Beyond that, further resistance appears at the 50-day EMA ($0.1904) and the 38.2% Fibonacci level at $0.1957.

Derivatives data from CoinGlass shows a long-to-short ratio of 0.72—the lowest in over a month—while funding rates remain negative at -0.0055%. This indicates that short positions are paying longs, which can sometimes act as a mild contrarian signal.

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