- Attacker minted 80M unbacked USR using $100K-$200K, extracting $23M-$25M in ETH.
- Root cause was compromised private keys with no on-chain mint limits or oracle checks.
- USR lost its peg within minutes, crashing below $0.40 with lows near $0.02.
Resolv Labs confirmed that its USR stablecoin minting system was exploited on March 22, 2026. An attacker gained access to private keys and minted 80 million unbacked USR tokens.
The attacker used only $100,000-$200,000 in initial collateral. That input should have minted a small amount of USR, but the system allowed tens of millions to be created.
The attacker converted USR into its staked version (wstUSR), then swapped into other stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC, and finally into Ether. On-chain data shows total extraction of roughly $23 million to $25 million in ETH.
Root Cause: Private Key Compromise, Not Code Failure
The exploit did not come from a bug in smart contracts, and the system worked as coded. The failure came from off-chain infrastructure.
The attacker compromised Resolv’s AWS key management system and gained control of a privileged signing key. This key had the authority to approve minting amounts.
The contract only checked for a valid signature and had no max mint limit, no price oracle, and no collateral ratio check.
Two main transactions show the scale, with 50 million USR minted and 30 million USR minted, respectively, with 80 million USR created with minimal backing. Once attackers compromised the key, they enabled unlimited token minting.
Contagion Spreads Across DeFi Protocols
The damage did not stay within Resolv. Protocols integrated with USR also took hits. Morpho Labs reported exposure through its curated lending vaults. The exploit impacted around 15 vaults holding more than $10,000 each.
Curators, including Gauntlet, Re7 Labs, kpk, and 9summits, had pools tied to USR. Some automated systems continued to provide liquidity even after the exploit, worsening losses.
Morpho said its core contracts remained safe, with risk limited to curators.
USR Stablecoin Loses Peg as Price Crashes Below $0.40
The sudden supply shock broke the system instantly as USR lost its dollar peg within minutes.
Data shows the token dropped below $0.40, with lows near $0.02 on some feeds. Chainalysis estimates an 80% collapse at peak panic before partial recovery.
The protocol shut down mint and redeem functions immediately to stop further damage. At the same time, the attacker attempted additional minting, forcing a rapid response from the team.
USR holders were left exposed as liquidity pools were flooded with unbacked tokens.
Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is for informational and educational purposes only. The article does not constitute financial advice or advice of any kind. Coin Edition is not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of the utilization of content, products, or services mentioned. Readers are advised to exercise caution before taking any action related to the company.
Source: https://coinedition.com/resolv-stablecoin-crashes-after-25m-exploit-mints-80m-fake-tokens/
