b14g to Return 68.15 Million CORE Stolen in October 31 Exploit
The staking protocol published a post-mortem for the attack that drained 97.05 million CORE and set repayments funded by recovered tokens and future Core staking revenue.
Key Takeaways
- b14g published a post-mortem on the October 31, 2026 exploit that drained about 97.05 million CORE from 91 staking orders.
- About 68.15 million CORE, roughly 70.2% of the stolen tokens, was recovered through a Core hard fork on November 2, 2026.
- b14g plans to return the recovered CORE to affected orders within 5 to 7 days, in proportion to verified balances.
- Remaining losses will be repaid from 50% of b14g's future Core staking revenue, claimable by affected users weekly.
b14g will return 68.15 million CORE to affected staking orders within 5 to 7 days under a repayment plan announced in its post-mortem on the b14g CORE exploit of October 31, 2026. The attack drained about 97.05 million CORE from 91 staking orders on the Core DAO (CORE) network, according to an Odaily report on the post-mortem.
How the b14g CORE Exploit Worked
b14g is a Bitcoin dual-staking protocol built on Core. The attacker used a compatibility flaw between b14g's staking contract and Core's native staking contract, sending 99 zero-amount withdrawal requests across 91 staking orders in a single transaction. The requests passed through the protocol's regular withdrawal function and drained 97.05 million CORE.
No private keys or administrative accounts were compromised, according to the post-mortem. Bitcoin staked through b14g was not affected and remains locked on the Bitcoin chain.
How the Repayment Plan Works
About 68.15 million CORE, roughly 70.2% of the stolen amount, was recovered on November 2, 2026, when the Core network moved the recovered tokens to a designated address in a hard fork. Trading platforms have also frozen about 12 million CORE.
b14g says it has verified balances for all affected staking orders. The recovered tokens go back to users within 5 to 7 days, split in proportion to each order's verified balance, with users able to claim their share weekly, according to TokenPost's report on the plan. Any further CORE recovered from exchange freezes will be added to repayments, and the remaining losses will be covered by 50% of b14g's future Core staking revenue. Market data since the attack is visible on the Core DAO price chart.
What b14g Is Changing
To prevent a repeat, b14g plans to add checks that reject zero or invalid withdrawal amounts and automated alerts for unusual withdrawals. It also plans changes to its emergency response so affected contracts can be paused within minutes.
The incident is one of the largest exploits of a BTCfi staking service to date. Core itself is one of the layer 1 blockchains that leans on Bitcoin's security model, and staking products like b14g sit in the fast-growing BTCfi category.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Was the b14g CORE Exploit?
On October 31, 2026, an attacker drained about 97.05 million CORE from 91 staking orders using 99 zero-amount withdrawal requests in a single transaction.
How Much CORE Was Recovered after the Exploit?
About 68.15 million CORE, roughly 70.2% of the stolen amount, was recovered in a Core hard fork on November 2, 2026. Trading platforms also froze about 12 million CORE.
When Will b14g Repay Affected Users?
b14g plans to return the recovered CORE within 5 to 7 days of the plan, with users able to claim their share weekly.
Was Bitcoin Staked through b14g Affected?
No. The staked BTC stayed locked on the Bitcoin chain and was not touched by the October 31 exploit.
How Will b14g Prevent Another Exploit?
The protocol plans to reject zero or invalid withdrawal amounts, alert on unusual withdrawals, and pause affected contracts within minutes in an emergency.
Sources
- b14g Reviews CORE Exploit Incident: No Private Key Leak Involved, Plans to Initiate Fund Repayment Within 5 to 7 Days · Odaily
- b14g Sets Repayment Plan After 68.15 Million CORE Recovery · TokenPost
Prices and market data: Coinranking.
