Crypto Markets Steady Amid Harmony Exploit and US Inflation Data Loom

Crypto markets were steady on Wednesday as traders absorbed a Harmony protocol exploit while waiting for U.S. inflation data that often sets the tone for risk assets.

Harmony, a layer-1 blockchain network for DeFi protocols and marketplaces, confirmed it had been hit by an exploit early in the Asian day. An attacker minted some 4 billion ONE tokens through empty blocks, representing about 26% of the token's circulating supply.

Around 2.8 billion of the tokens were quickly funneled to exchanges, pushing ONE down as much as 40% to a record low.