USP Stablecoin Loses Dollar Peg as DeFi Protocol Platypus Suffers $8.5M Attack
The flash loan attack caused Platypus Finance’s native stablecoin to fall to 48 cents from $1. The potential loss is $8.5 million, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
Updated Feb 17, 2023 at 11:03 a.m. UTC
Platypus USD (USP), the protocol’s stablecoin, lost its price peg to the dollar as a result of the exploit, falling to 48 cents from its $1 anchor, according to CoinGecko.
"For now all operations are paused until we get more clarity," a Platypus team member posted in the protocol's Discord server.
A flash loan is a type of uncollateralized borrowing popular on decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols among traders to quickly profit from arbitrage opportunities. However, exploiters often tap flash loans to destabilize and drain digital assets from DeFi protocols.