"SwissBorg’s $41M Solana Hit: A Supply Chain Cyber Shock"

SwissBorg, a Swiss crypto wealth management platform, has confirmed a significant security breach involving its Solana staking infrastructure, resulting in a $41 million loss from its Earn program. The incident, which occurred on September 8, was traced to a vulnerability in the API of Kiln, the staking infrastructure provider that supports yield products on blockchains like Solana and Ethereum. Hackers exploited the API to siphon off 193,000 Solana (SOL) tokens, equivalent to $41 million at the time of the breach. The company emphasized that the main SwissBorg app and other Earn products were not impacted by the attack [1].

The CEO of SwissBorg, Cyrus Fazel, addressed the incident during an X Space session, clarifying that the breach did not compromise the company’s overall financial stability. Fazel noted that the affected users represented approximately 1% of SwissBorg’s customer base and 2% of the company’s total assets under management. He assured users that the company remains fully capable of compensating all affected parties using its current treasury and has already begun working with international agencies, exchanges, and white-hat hackers to trace and recover the stolen funds. “It’s a big amount of money, but it doesn’t put SwissBorg at risk,” Fazel stated [3].

SwissBorg has confirmed that some of the stolen funds have already been blocked by multiple exchanges, preventing further liquidation. The company is also collaborating with key players in the blockchain space, including Fireblocks, the Solana Foundation, and blockchain investigators, to track the stolen assets across multiple wallet addresses. The stolen funds were routed to a Solana wallet labeled as the “SwissBorg Exploiter” on Solscan, a tracking platform that advises users to avoid interacting with the account [1].

The incident highlights the ongoing risks associated with decentralized finance (DeFi) and staking platforms, despite efforts to vet and secure partnerships. Fazel acknowledged that the breach stemmed from an external attack on a provider, emphasizing that SwissBorg had conducted due diligence in selecting its partners. “SwissBorg has not been hacked. There is an external attack from a provider that was unfortunately compromised,” he explained [3]. The CEO further emphasized the company’s commitment to transparency and user trust, promising regular updates throughout the recovery process.

Fazel also stressed the importance of learning from the incident, calling it a “bad day” for SwissBorg but not a fatal blow. The company plans to implement additional security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future and has pledged to continue working with law enforcement agencies globally. “It’s never easy to be like, oh shit, I just lost some of your funds. But it’s in these times that we realize who has our trusted community,” Fazel said. The CEO expressed empathy for the emotional impact on affected users and reiterated the company’s commitment to full coverage of all losses [3].

As the cryptocurrency industry faces a rising tide of cyberattacks, this incident underscores the need for robust security protocols and third-party due diligence in the DeFi ecosystem. The breach follows other high-profile attacks, including a $2.4 million exploit of the DeFi platform Nemo Protocol on the Sui blockchain and a global npm security breach that impacted both everyday online services and crypto platforms [6]. With growing concerns about software supply chain risks and phishing attacks, SwissBorg’s response serves as a case study in transparency, financial preparedness, and user-focused accountability in the crypto space.

Source:

[1] SwissBorg hacked for $41M in Solana after Kiln API ... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/swissborg-hacked-41m-sol-api-compromise)

[2] SwissBorg loses 193K SOL in Solana exploit (https://cryptobriefing.com/swissborg-loses-193k-sol-s41m-solana-exploit/)

[3] SwissBorg loses $41M in SOL after partner API ... (https://cryptoslate.com/swissborg-loses-41m-in-sol-after-partner-api-compromise-affects-earn-program/)

[4] DeFi Platform Nemo Protocol Exploited for $2.4 Million in Hack (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/defi-platform-nemo-protocol-exploited-104738265.html)

[5] New Security Breach Threatens Crypto And Everyday Apps (https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/09/08/new-security-breach-threatens-crypto-and-everyday-apps/)

[6] Hackers Exploit Ethereum to Inject Malware in Popular Coding ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hackers-exploit-ethereum-inject-malware-123913424.html)