A significant exploit of the Cork Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has resulted in the loss of approximately $12 million worth of crypto assets. These funds were held as 3,761.87 wstETH (Wrapped Staked Ether), used to represent ETH staked through liquid staking protocols. 0x4771.762B, a wallet linked to a crypto service provider, appears to be the source of funds for the hacker’s actions. The exploit occurred shortly after deployment, with the hacker successfully exploiting the protocol within only 16 minutes and 45 seconds. 3,761.87 wstETH was quickly converted into Ethereum upon the theft. As of today’s report, these stolen funds have not been transferred to any other wallets. Following this event, Cork Protocol released a statement indicating their investigation into the exploit and suspension of all contracts to minimize further losses. The team assured the community that updates would be shared as circumstances unfold.