Stablecoin project Origin Dollar announced it suffered a flash-loan attack and lost $7 million
The Origin Protocol team revealed yesterday that its protocol was hacked, resulting in approximately $7 million being taken by malicious actors. Origin Dollar (OUSD) markets itself as the first stablecoin that generates yield while remaining in users’ wallets.
According to the project, the loss occurred after a flash-loan attack that allowed attackers to exploit a vulnerability. Following the incident, Origin Dollar paused all deposits and mobilized the team to investigate the exact vector attackers used to manipulate the protocol.
In their Medium post, the team wrote: “At this time there has been a loss of approximately $7M — including over $1M of funds deposited by Origin, our founders, and employees. We are highly motivated to do everything possible to address the issue.”
Origin Dollar further advised users not to buy OUSD on Uniswap or Sushiswap, warning that the prices shown on those exchanges may not reflect OUSD’s underlying assets after the exploit. Earlier reports indicate the stolen funds included roughly $2.25 million in Dai (DAI) and about $1 million in Ether (ETH).
The attackers used a flash loan to manipulate asset prices, including those relevant to OUSD. Origin points to this transaction as the likely root of the flash attack. Flash loans let borrowers temporarily access large sums without collateral to amplify trading positions across DeFi protocols; on Ethereum, the loan can be taken and repaid within the same transaction, enabling high-leverage exploits when protocols are vulnerable.
OUSD down 46%
OUSD is a stablecoin intended to track the U.S. dollar. After the attack, however, OUSD lost roughly 46% of its value within 24 hours. According to CoinGecko, OUSD was trading near $0.50, well below its typical $1 peg.
Origin Dollar reassured the crypto community that the team does not plan to disappear. The project apologized for the incident and emphasized: “We are not going anywhere. We did not rug pull anyone, and this is not an internal fraud. Despite this setback, our intention is to make OUSD a safe and successful product that builds on Origin’s broader mission of enabling peer-to-peer commerce.”