On January 2024, Gamma was exploited in a price manipulation, resulting in approximately $6.3M in losses. That makes the Gamma exploit the 41st largest DeFi incident out of 690 documented in our archive.
Attack Mechanics: How the Gamma Price Manipulation Played Out
Exploit Class Applied to Gamma
The Gamma incident on January 4, 2024 is classified as a Price Manipulation. The attacker drives the on-chain price of a token up or down within a single transaction to extract value from the protocol. In the full archive, Gamma is 1 of 85 documented price manipulation incidents.
Gamma in Context
At $6.3M, the Gamma exploit is a significant ($1M–$10M) event compared to the largest same-class incident in our archive — CreamFinance (2021) at $130M.
Prior Price Manipulation Before Gamma
The nearest price manipulation incident before Gamma was Channels, 4 days earlier on December 31, 2023 ($4.4K lost). The same exploit class surfaced again within the price manipulation attack surface.
Impact & Recovery for Gamma
Gamma Loss Figure
The Gamma exploit caused $6,300,000 in losses — a significant ($1M–$10M) incident and the 12th largest of 188 documented in 2024. This single incident represents 1.7% of all tracked losses that year.
Where Gamma Sits Among Price Manipulation Attacks
Ranked by loss size, Gamma is the 8th largest of 85 price manipulation incidents documented. That puts the Gamma loss above the class average of $3.9M.
Timeline Since the Gamma Incident
The Gamma exploit occurred 2.3 years ago (831 days). The contract, its fork-block, and the attack transaction remain on-chain and forensically reproducible.
Primary Reference for Gamma
Public post-mortem / on-chain analysis for the Gamma incident: view source.
FAQ
How much did Gamma lose?
The Gamma exploit in January 2024 resulted in $6,300,000 in losses — the 12th largest of 188 DeFi incidents that year.
When did the Gamma hack happen?
The Gamma exploit was recorded on January 4, 2024 — 831 days ago.
What type of exploit hit Gamma?
The Gamma incident is classified as a Price Manipulation. The attacker drives the on-chain price of a token up or down within a single transaction to extract value from the protocol.
How common is the Price Manipulation pattern seen at Gamma?
Our archive contains 85 documented price manipulation incidents. The Gamma incident is one of them.
How does Gamma compare to the largest Price Manipulation attack?
The largest price manipulation incident in our archive is CreamFinance (2021) at $130M. The Gamma loss is $6.3M.
What challenges does blockchain technology face in wider adoption?
Challenges include scalability, interoperability, regulatory issues, and the need for greater public understanding and acceptance.
How are the modified mean and variance equations adjusted in the GARCH (1,1) model for this study?
They are adjusted by incorporating explanatory variables such as trading volume and information demand to better understand their effect on returns' volatility.