DeFi Lending Market Risks Exposed by Nostra Finance Attack

A recent attack on Nostra Finance's money market highlights the risks of DeFi lending markets. On September 17, 2026, an attacker borrowed around $3.5 million in various assets against the protocol's own token NSTR as collateral.

The problem was that the circulating market capitalization of NSTR stood between $550,000 and $590,000 at the time, making it possible for the attacker to borrow more than five times the value of the posted collateral.

This incident is not an isolated case. According to data from KuCoin, decentralised lending protocols have recorded 32 separate price manipulation attacks so far in 2026, a record for the sector.