Following a cross-chain bridge attack on Wanchain on Monday, the Midnight ecosystem token NIGHT plummeted and hit a new all-time low. As selling pressure eased, NIGHT rebounded nearly 19% in 24 hours, with its latest trading price around $0.022.

290 million NIGHT tokens stolen and sold off

The attack occurred on Wanchain's cross-chain channel connecting Binance and Cardano. Reports indicate that the attackers transferred approximately 290 million NIGHT tokens and subsequently sold them off, causing the token price to drop by about 43% at one point.

Bridging attacks have consistently been one of the most common and costly security problems in the crypto industry. Over the past few years, cross-chain bridging incidents such as Ronin, Wormhole, and Nomad have resulted in losses exceeding $1.5 billion, with attacks typically targeting bridging contracts or multisignature control structures.

• Number of NIGHT tokens stolen: Approximately 290 million
• Intraday decline: approximately 43%
• 24-hour rebound: nearly 19%

Hoskinson criticizes traditional bridge architecture

In an interview with CoinDesk, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson stated that this incident exposed long-standing flaws in traditional cross-chain bridges. He attributed the problem to the legacy bridging architecture built by third parties, rather than the design of Midnight itself.

Hoskinson also stated that AI-driven vulnerability discovery is accelerating the rate at which software systems are exposed to risks, affecting not only the crypto industry. He believes that even systems with strong protection capabilities can still be breached under sustained attack.

Advocating the use of zero-knowledge proofs to replace trusted intermediaries

Hoskinson stated that zero-knowledge systems like Midnight aim to reduce reliance on bridge operators and multi-signature mechanisms, instead relying on cryptographic proofs for cross-chain verification. This is a security direction he reiterated in light of this incident.

From a market performance perspective, NIGHT has shown a significant recovery after its sharp drop, but this attack once again highlights that cross-chain infrastructure remains a high-risk area in the industry. For projects that rely on bridging liquidity, security design will continue to directly impact token prices and user confidence.