TL;DR
- Exploit impact: UXLink hack minted billions of tokens, crashing the price by 90% and causing losses up to $30 million.
- Root flaw: Delegate call vulnerability in a multisignature wallet enabled an attacker to seize contract control.
- Security lessons: Experts urge time locks, hardcoded caps, audits, and decentralized governance to prevent repeats.
Decentralized social platform UXLink has become the latest cautionary tale in the DeFi sector after a multisignature wallet exploit allowed attackers to mint billions of unauthorized tokens, sending its native asset into freefall. The breach, which saw losses estimated between $11 million and $30 million, has reignited debate over the dangers of centralized control in projects that market themselves as decentralized.
Security Notice – Update 5
We would like to share the latest progress on the UXLINK token migration:
1. The new UXLINK smart contract has successfully passed its security audit.
2. The contract will be deployed on the Ethereum mainnet. The contract dropped the mint-burn…— UXLINK (@UXLINKofficial) September 24, 2025
Breach and Market Fallout
UXLink confirmed the exploit on Tuesday, revealing that attackers gained control of its smart contract through a compromised multisignature wallet. The breach enabled the minting of 2 billion UXLINK tokens, with security firm Hacken estimating nearly 10 trillion tokens were eventually created. The token’s price collapsed 90% from $0.33 to $0.033 as the attacker continued minting and transferring assets to exchanges. The incident underscored how quickly confidence can evaporate when supply controls fail.
Delegate Call Vulnerability
According to Marwan Hachem, co-founder and CEO of Web3 security firm FearsOff, the exploit stemmed from a delegate call vulnerability in UXLink’s multisignature wallet. This flaw allowed the attacker to run arbitrary code and seize administrative control of the contract. Hachem noted that the setup lacked safeguards such as supply caps and proper shielding against delegate call exploits. He emphasized that the breach illustrates the risks of concentrating too much authority in systems that claim to be decentralized.
Security Measures That Could Have Prevented the Hack
Hachem outlined several measures that could have prevented the incident. Implementing timelocks on sensitive actions like minting or contract ownership changes would have given the community time to detect anomalies. Hardcoding supply caps into the contract would have blocked unlimited token creation, while renouncing minting privileges after launch would have removed insider risks. He also stressed the importance of independent audits that extend beyond token contracts to include multisignature wallet setups.
Lessons for the DeFi Sector
The UXLink hack highlights the broader need for layered defenses in decentralized projects. Hachem urged teams to adopt transparent governance, publish wallet addresses, and require multiple signers for every transaction. He also recommended emergency stop mechanisms for critical functions. The incident demonstrates that even widely used tools like multisignature wallets are not bulletproof. For DeFi projects, the takeaway is clear: without robust security and decentralized governance, community trust can be shattered overnight.
