Uniswap Liquidity Pool Hit With Phishing Attack Totaling $3.5M in Ether

The phishing campaign is part of a much wider hack and is not considered an exploit, according to several users and Uniswap’s founder

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • A phishing attack has hit a major liquidity pool provider for roughly $3.5 million in ether
  • The hack is part of a much wider attack against the protocol’s users, according to Metamask security analyst Harry Denley

A hacker, or group of hackers, executing a phishing campaign on a major Uniswap V3 liquidity pool has made off with NFT positions worth roughly 3,278 ether ($3.56 million).

Detected Monday by several users and Binance’s threat intelligence department, the hacker managed to impersonate Uniswap’s website and dupe a liquidity pool provider into signing malicious transactions.

Uniswap’s liquidity positions on its third iteration are represented as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) which enable users to utilize them as collateral to receive a loan paid out in stablecoins and blue-chip assets.

All but 70 ether ($76,900) have been laundered through crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, according to on-chain data of the address identified as the attacker.

It appears the victim is part of a much wider attack that targeted roughly 73,399 addresses by sending a malicious token — acting under the false pretense as a UNI airdrop — in an attempt to get users to sign, according to MetaMask security analyst Harry Denley.

The exact amount taken via the campaign is not yet known. A spokesperson for Uniswap Labs directed us to the company’s explanation of the incident.

Loading Tweet..

“A phishing attack that resulted in some liquidity pool NFTs being taken from individuals who approved malicious transactions,” Uniswap founder Hayden Adams later confirmed in a follow-up tweet. “Totally separate from the protocol. A good reminder to protect yourself from phishing and not click on malicious links.”

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said late Monday he had spoken with Uniswap’s team and assured users the protocol was “safe.”

“The attack looks like…a phishing attack. Both teams responded quickly. All good. Sorry for the alarm,” the CEO tweeted.

The price of UNI, the protocol’s native token, is down more than 11% on the day, from $6.29 to $5.56, exchange data shows.

Sam Martin contributed to reporting.

This story was updated on July 13, 2022, at 3:55 pm ET with a comment from Uniswap Labs.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens