Payy freezes cards and transfers after Ethereum bridge exploit drains about $1.83M in USDC
Payy halts card payments and transfers after a bridge exploit
Payy has frozen its stablecoin payment network, including card payments, after saying its Ethereum bridge contract was exploited and drained on Sept. 24. A bridge is a service that moves crypto assets between blockchains. A stablecoin is a crypto token built to hold a steady value, in this case tied to the US dollar.
The freeze covers deposits, withdrawals, transfers and purchases made with the Payy card. That means users have no ordinary way to move or spend funds through the service while the company investigates.
Key facts from the incident
- Payy said its bridge contract was exploited and drained of its full balance. That description refers to that contract.
- Payy's statement puts the incident at 4:21 a.m. UTC on Sept. 24.
- A reported Ethereum transaction moved 1,832,149.4681 USDC out of a Payy rollup contract at 4:21:23 a.m. UTC, in block 26044909.
- Deposits, withdrawals, transfers and card payments are paused.
- Payy has given no figure for customer losses and no date for restoring service.
What Payy's own statement says
Payy announced the pause in a statement on X. It said all Payy Network transactions were paused during the investigation and promised further updates. It also said it was following incident response guidelines.
The statement did not name a USDC amount and did not give a transaction hash. Because of that, the reported transfer measures one outflow from the contract, while the full scope of the incident remains open.
The Ethereum transaction that was reported
The reported transfer took place at block 26044909 at 4:21:23 a.m. UTC, in which 1,832,149.4681 USDC left a Payy rollup contract. A rollup contract is a program on Ethereum that holds funds for a system built on top of that network.
A fuller loss figure would depend on how Payy accounts for the bridge beyond what is visible in that one reported transaction.
What is still unclear
- Whether the bridge loss affects customer balances, and by how much.
- How many users had active balances or tried to make a payment during the pause.
- The technical cause of the exploit.
- When each transaction function will return.
Why the service freeze matters for users
The confirmed consequence for users is the freeze itself: they cannot deposit or withdraw, send transfers, or complete card payments through Payy. Whether the bridge loss reaches customer balances has not been disclosed, and no restoration timetable has been published. The questions now are when the paused functions return and whether the bridge loss affects customer funds.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.