Resolv has paused its protocol following a private key compromise that allowed an attacker to mint approximately $80 million in uncollateralized USR stablecoin, triggering a sharp depeg. The team stated its core collateral was not directly drained, and around 9 million USR held by the attacker has been burned, with the only confirmed financial loss currently standing at roughly $0.5 million from pre-pause redemptions.
A malicious actor compromised a private key to mint tens of millions in unbacked USR stablecoin, prompting Resolv to halt its protocol. *The team said the attacker gained unauthorized access to its infrastructure and minted new USR tokens without backing.*
This exploit focused on supply inflation rather than draining existing protocol funds. Approximately 71 million extra USR was minted, expanding the circulating supply far beyond the protocol’s collateral base.
The team said the breach resulted from a compromised private key tied to infrastructure access. The incident exposed a design where a privileged role could authorize token issuance without sufficient on-chain validation of collateral.
Market reaction was swift, with USR losing its dollar peg. According to CoinMarketCap data, the stablecoin was trading near $0.19, down more than 56% in 24 hours.
Resolv is preparing to enable redemptions for pre-incident USR holders, starting with allowlisted users. The protocol holds around $141 million in assets and is working with partners and law enforcement to trace illicit tokens.
The event highlights risks in DeFi systems where critical safeguards depend on off-chain controls. Although the collateral pool remains intact, minting unbacked tokens has undermined confidence in the system’s accounting.
