zkSync just joined the 2025 hack club with a cool $5 million exit scam – except it wasn't actually an exit.

Some clever anon managed to swipe millions in ZK tokens while the team was busy explaining rollup tech on Twitter.

The attack hit the protocol's admin wallet, but zkSync swears your bags are perfectly safe. Where have we heard that before?

The Hack Breakdown

The exploit went down on April 15th when someone yoinked admin credentials for zkSync's airdrop contract.

The hacker minted 110 million ZK tokens out of thin air, then immediately market dumped 66 million of them as quickly as he could.

ZK's price took the expected nosedive, dropping 17% in half an hour while degens panic sold into the abyss.

The team activated emergency protocols, but not before the damage was done – another day, another crypto hack.

What Actually Got Hit

What’s interesting is that only the leftover airdrop allocation got touched – no main wallets were impacted.

The protocol itself is apparently untouched, with the core infrastructure as secure as ever (their words, not mine).

User funds never faced any risk according to the team, but that didn't stop people from racing to the exits.

It's like someone stole the restaurant's gift cards but left the cash register alone.

The Market Meltdown

The ZK token went into full meltdown mode the moment the hack was discovered.

Charts went vertical in the wrong direction, with panic sells triggering liquidations across the board.

Down 17% in minutes, though it's since recovered slightly to just 11% down – crypto traders apparently have the memory of goldfish.

Wallet activity spiked as holders decided whether to buy the dip or cut their losses before the next dump.

The Year of Mega Hacks

This is just the latest in 2025's seemingly endless parade of crypto exploits.

We've already seen over $1.77 billion stolen in Q1 alone, with Bybit's massive theft taking the crown so far.

Every week brings another "funds are safe" announcement from somewhere in the ecosystem.

At this point, getting hacked is practically a rite of passage for any serious crypto project.

The Airdrop Connection

The ZK airdrop was already controversial before it got hacked.

Critics were ripping it apart for uneven distribution and weak Sybil resistance from day one.

Some whales gamed the system and walked away with million-dollar allocations while the average user got peanuts.

Now those unclaimed peanuts are in a hacker's wallet instead.

The ZK Sink

zkSync is promising a full investigation and detailed post-mortem that will surely use the words "moving forward" at least a dozen times.

The team is already implementing additional security measures, which begs the question of why they weren't there in the first place.

User funds being safe is great and all, but the damage to confidence might be harder to repair than the actual exploit.

In a space where trust is already in short supply, another security breach is the last thing any L2 needs.

Meanwhile, the hacker is probably already figuring out how to launder their new fortune through a series of mixers and bridges.

Just another Tuesday in crypto.