Radiant Capital, a cross-chain lending protocol hit by two exploits in 2024, is winding down active development after failing to recover from a $50 million-plus hack linked to North Korean attackers.
Radiant Capital DAO said in a June 1 Medium post that it will begin an "orderly wind-down," with active development stopping immediately.
Radiant Capital DAO
- Launched in 2022, Radiant Capital is a DeFi lending and borrowing protocol that lets users deposit assets on one chain and borrow supported assets across others. In July 2023, Binance Labs, Binance's venture arm, invested $10 million in Radiant to support product development.
The DAO said it hasn't recovered any meaningful funds through zeroShadow, secured no new outside investment or received no grants large enough to rebuild its operating runway.
The decision follows two security shocks in 2024.
- In January 2024, Radiant suffered an approximately 1,900 ETH flash-loan attack. The DAO later used treasury funds to cover communal bad debt through a governance vote, cutting into its remaining reserves.
- Then, in October, Radiant was hit by a $50 million-plus exploit. Radiant said affected users still haven't been remediated and recovery efforts remain "ongoing and uncertain."
- Radiant later said Mandiant, the Google-owned cybersecurity firm it hired for on-device forensics, attributed the attack to UNC4736, a threat actor linked to North Korea.
But the wind-down doesn't mean the protocol is being switched off. The DAO said Radiant isn't being shut down, but is moving into a maintenance state meant to keep access open and let users manage their positions.
- Radiant said its website, documentation, Discord and Telegram will remain available through the end of the year, while its X account will stay active indefinitely for recovery updates.
- The smart contracts will also remain accessible on-chain, meaning users can still withdraw funds, repay loans, or close lending positions.