Decentralized perpetuals platform Ostium suspends operations as security firms flag potential multimillion-dollar losses from an oracle breach.
Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol on Arbitrum, paused all trading after blockchain security firms reported a multimillion-dollar oracle exploit. The team advised users to revoke contract approvals while investigating the incident, though it has not confirmed the cause or total losses.
The incident follows a surge in DeFi attacks, with April recording nearly $630 million in crypto hacks—the highest monthly total since February 2025. DeFi protocols accounted for most losses, with oracle and offchain infrastructure increasingly targeted by attackers.
Security researchers note a shift in exploit tactics toward privileged access and key management, raising concerns about DeFi’s institutional readiness. Ostium supports 75 leveraged trading pairs across stocks, ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.