跨鏈借貸協議 Radiant 宣布停業：遭北韓竊走 5M鎂，TVL 蒸發 87%

Cross-Chain Lending Protocol Radiant Capital Officially Announces Halt of Development, Transitioning to Maintenance Mode. After being robbed of $50 million by North Korea’s Lazarus Group in 2024, TVL plummeted from $3.87 million to $500,000, only 13% remaining.
(Background summary: Cross-chain lending protocol Radiant can’t go on! Robbed of $5 million, it declares “full stop on development”)
(Additional context: Kelp DAO announces rsETH fully restored: 293 million dollars stolen by North Korean hackers five weeks ago)

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• From $3.87 million to $500,000: TVL evaporates 87%
• Not shutting down completely, but no longer developing
• The hidden concern of “passive aging” in DeFi
• Liquidity in cross-chain lending protocols usually comes from multiple source chains. When assets on the main chain are stolen, liquidity on other chains may also shrink simultaneously, creating an illusion of “apparent liquidity but already a shell.” Taiwanese users engaging with cross-chain DeFi should not only focus on APY but also regularly check protocol TVL trends and recent attack signs.

Radiant Capital, the cross-chain lending protocol, announced on Monday that it will cease development and switch to “maintenance mode,” marking the official end of the cross-chain lending battle that saw $50 million stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group in 2024.

Radiant stated in an official Medium post that the decision was driven by the inability to recover stolen funds, lack of new capital injections, and the ongoing funding runway needed to sustain operations. The team also added on X that the community and contributors had maintained protocol operations under “increasingly difficult conditions,” but “without revival, capital, or growth,” continued operation was no longer feasible.

From $3.87 million to $500,000: TVL evaporates 87%

Radiant launched in 2022 with the goal of creating a single platform aggregating liquidity across multiple blockchains. It expanded rapidly in 2023, with DeFiLlama data showing its TVL peaked at $3.87 million in December of that year. After being robbed of $50 million by North Korea’s Lazarus Group in October 2024, TVL sharply dropped to $750,000, and within a month, further declined to $500,000, an 87% decrease.

Not shutting down completely, but no longer developing

Radiant has not fully closed. The protocol’s frontend and smart contracts remain open; users can still withdraw, repay, and manage positions. However, the DAO will no longer undertake development, upgrades, or extensions. The official advice is for users to “actively manage risks and reduce exposure.”

Additionally, Radiant will keep the compensation portal open, continue recovery efforts, and return recovered funds to affected users.

The hidden concern of “passive aging” in DeFi

Radiant’s shutdown reveals another risk in DeFi protocols: even without major incidents, protocols lacking ongoing developer maintenance can enter a state of “passive aging.” While smart contracts can continue to operate, they won’t fix new bugs, follow chain upgrades, or implement competitive yield strategies, ultimately leading to market marginalization.

OpenZeppelin co-founder previously warned that “all DeFi is unsafe,” with AI-driven theft methods increasing exponentially. The $50 million stolen from Radiant is just the tip of the iceberg. Without establishing ongoing security budgets and developer mechanisms, similar “quiet shutdowns” like Radiant’s could become commonplace.

Liquidity in cross-chain lending protocols usually comes from multiple source chains. When assets on the main chain are stolen, liquidity on other chains may also shrink simultaneously, creating an illusion of “apparent liquidity but already a shell.” Taiwanese users engaging with cross-chain DeFi should not only focus on APY but also regularly check protocol TVL trends and recent attack signs.