The key DeFi feature, liquid staking on Shibarium, is being restored with new security measures following a costly bridge hack one month prior.
In Brief
- K9 Finance DAO has re-enabled liquid staking on Shibarium for BONE tokens via its Bonecrusher protocol, restoring full functionality.
- The relaunch introduces a ~24-hour unstaking period to align with security upgrades made to the Shibarium network’s withdrawal window.
- The service was paused following a September 14 exploit that resulted in up to $4 million in losses and a network-wide halt of staking features.
K9 Finance DAO, a partner of Shiba Inu, has officially re-enabled liquid staking on Shibarium, restoring a key service that was halted for over a month following a network-wide security breach. The protocol announced the relaunch on Tuesday via its official X account.
According to the statement, the staking process, where users deposit BONE on Ethereum to receive the liquid derivative token knBONE on Shibarium, will “operate as before, with transactions completing within minutes.”
New Security Measures for Liquid Staking on Shibarium
As part of the relaunch, K9 Finance has implemented a longer withdrawal period to enhance security. Users wishing to unstake their knBONE and redeem their original BONE tokens will now face a delay of approximately 24 hours.
This change aligns with upgraded security measures on Shibarium’s main Plasma Bridge, which was reactivated on October 14. Following the exploit, the bridge now includes a seven-day withdrawal delay and a blacklisting function for malicious addresses to prevent similar attacks and better protect the liquid staking on Shibarium ecosystem.
How an Exploit Halted Liquid Staking on Shibarium
The need for these new protocols stems from a costly exploit on September 14, 2025. An attacker utilized a flash loan to manipulate Shibarium’s checkpoint system, allowing them to stake 4.6 million BONE and subsequently drain between $2.4 million and $4 million from the bridge.
The incident triggered a network-wide pause on all staking and delegation functions across Shibarium to prevent further losses. K9 Finance offered a 5 ETH bounty for the return of the funds, but it expired without a response from the attacker.
Chain Street’s Take
K9 Finance’s relaunch of liquid staking marks a cautious but necessary comeback for Shibarium’s DeFi ecosystem. After a $4 million exploit forced a month-long freeze, the new 24-hour withdrawal delay and upgraded bridge safeguards show the team is prioritizing resilience over speed.
It’s a reminder that in DeFi, recovery isn’t just about patching code but about restoring trust. For Shibarium, this move signals a slow rebuild of confidence after a hard lesson in how quickly momentum can vanish when security cracks show.
