Today’s post is centred on the price manipulation exploit.

The decentralized nature of crypto brings freedom.

But it also opens the doors to clever forms of fraud, one of the most notorious being the price manipulation exploit.

From DeFi protocols to NFT platforms, several projects have suffered millions in losses due to this sneaky attack.

In this post, we’ll break down what a price manipulation exploit is and tell you how you can protect your assets and platforms from it.

What is Price Manipulation Exploit?

A price manipulation exploit occurs when a malicious actor manipulates the price of an asset on a decentralized exchange (DEX).

This is done to profit unfairly from a protocol that relies on that price.

These exploits commonly target DeFi protocols like lending platforms, stablecoins, and yield farms.

This is because they rely on the on-chain price feeds to determine value.

How It Works

A typical price manipulation exploit takes the following form:

1. Find a Target Protocol
The attacker looks for DeFi platforms that rely on the price of a specific token from a low-liquidity DEX.

2. Manipulate the Price
The attacker uses a flash loan or multiple transactions to pump or dump the token price on the DEX.

3. Exploit the Arbitrage
The manipulated price tricks the protocol.

For example:

• Borrowing more than they should from a lending protocol.
• Draining funds from a stablecoin minting system.
• Buying underpriced NFTs or synthetic assets.

4. Profit & Exit
The attacker exits before the price reverts to normal, pocketing massive profits—often without trace.

Below, I listed some platforms that have undergone price manipulation exploits.

Platforms Affected by Price Manipulation Exploits

Here are some real-world examples of crypto platforms that fell victim to price manipulation exploits:

bZx Protocol (2020)

One of the earliest and most cited examples.

The attacker manipulated the price of sUSD and drained over $1 million.

Harvest Finance (2020)

Over $24 million lost as an attacker manipulated Curve’s stablecoin pool to trick Harvest’s vault price oracle.

This took place on October 26th, 2020.

Alpha Homora (2021)

Used a similar price manipulation tactic combined with a flash loan on February 13, 2021.

The loss was over $37 million.

Beanstalk Farms (2022)

Although mainly a governance attack, it involved price manipulation tactics that made the governance proposal seem legitimate.

It happened on April 17, 2022 and over $182 million was lost.

Resupply (2025)

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Resupply confirmed a security breach in its wstUSR market in June 2025.

This led to about $9.6 million in crypto losses. 

UwU Lend (2025)

UwU Lend protocol was hacked on Monday, June 10, 2025.

The $14 million exploit was first discovered by on-chain security firm Cyvers.

How to Avoid Price Manipulation Exploit – As a User or Project

Whether you’re a DeFi user or protocol developer, here’s how to stay safe:

1. Use Reliable Oracles

Avoid using on-chain prices from DEXs directly.

Instead, use decentralized oracle providers like Arbitrum, Base, Avalanche, etc. that aggregate prices from multiple sources.

2. Avoid Low Liquidity Tokens

As a user, be cautious with trading or staking in pools with very low liquidity.

It makes them easy targets for price swings.

3. Watch for Flash Loans

Platforms should integrate flash loan protection by:

• Requiring time-weighted average price (TWAP).
• Blocking price changes within a single block.
• Adding transaction limits on sensitive functions.

4. Use Multi-Oracles and Price Checks

Developers should use multiple oracles or cross-compare prices to detect outliers.

For instance, comparing DEX prices with centralized exchange feeds.

5. Community Audits and Bug Bounties

Open up your smart contracts for community audits and offer bug bounties.

Many exploits could have been prevented with proper code review.

Conclusion

Price manipulation exploits are a reminder that code is law—but only when the law is smart.

The crypto space continues to evolve, but malicious actors will always try to find loopholes.

Whether you’re building a protocol or farming yields, understanding how these exploits work is your first line of defense.

Stay informed!

Stay secure!

And always DYOR (Do Your Own Research)!

Share this post to educate others.

Till my next post, stay safe out there.