A cross-chain bridge operated by AFX Trade was drained of $24.15 million in USDC on Arbitrum late Tuesday, July 22, 2026. The attacker quickly converted the stolen stablecoins into 12,467 ETH, according to security firm Blockaid, which flagged the breach at around 21:30 UTC.
How the exploit unfolded
Blockaid’s monitoring systems detected the unauthorized outflow from an AFX Trade bridge contract on Arbitrum. The attacker moved the USDC out of the bridge and swapped it for Ether in a series of transactions. By the time the alert went out, the funds had already been converted and moved.
The exact method used to compromise the bridge hasn’t been disclosed. AFX Trade has not yet issued a public statement about the incident. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
What was taken
The stolen amount — $24.15 million in USDC — represents a significant sum for a single bridge exploit. The attacker’s decision to swap the USDC for ETH suggests an attempt to avoid potential freezing of the stablecoin, which Circle can blacklist on Ethereum. However, the swap occurred on Arbitrum, where USDC is also issued natively.
At current prices, 12,467 ETH is worth roughly $24.15 million, meaning the attacker didn’t lose value in the conversion. The ETH has not yet been moved to a known exchange or mixer, according to on-chain data.
Who detected the breach
Blockaid, a blockchain security firm, was the first to publicly report the exploit. The company’s detection systems flagged the suspicious activity at 21:30 UTC on July 22. Blockaid did not provide details on whether it had alerted AFX Trade before the funds were fully drained.
The firm often works with protocols to help prevent or mitigate attacks, but in this case the exploit appears to have been completed before any intervention could occur.
What happens next
AFX Trade has not announced any recovery plan or compensation for affected users. The bridge remains offline. Investigators are likely tracing the stolen ETH through the blockchain, but the attacker may already have used mixers or cross-chain swaps to obscure the trail.
Users who had funds locked in the bridge are waiting for answers. The incident adds to a long list of cross-chain bridge hacks, which have collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years.
