StakeWise will independently return about $19.7 million in osETH and osGNO to its users through its governance process, separate from Balancer’s framework.

The framework emphasizes a non-socialized approach, paying only to the liquidity pools that suffered losses and preserving the recovered tokens rather than converting them to fiat.

Real-time on-chain visibility and transparency are highlighted as essential to faster response and recovery in DeFi crises.

White hats must complete identity verification, KYC, and sanctions screening under Balancer’s Safe Harbor; some rescuers declined to identify themselves and thus forfeited bounties.

Balancer conducted an internal rescue operation totaling about $4.1 million across Ethereum, Optimism, and Arbitrum in coordination with Certora, which does not qualify for Safe Harbor bounties due to its internal nature.

Distributions will be paid in-kind in the same tokens recovered, based on snapshots taken before the first exploit, ensuring that each pool’s holders receive their proportional share.

The hack is described as one of the most sophisticated attacks of 2025, underscoring ongoing security concerns in crypto as threats evolve.

The attack used a combination of a rounding error and batched swaps to maximize drain from Balancer’s pools.

Balancer proposes an about $8 million reimbursement plan to liquidity providers affected by the November exploit that drained more than $128 million from Balancer V2 vaults, with distributions designed to be pool-specific and pro-rata to holders of each affected pool.

Claimants must provide digital consent to Balancer’s terms, with a 180-day claim window; unclaimed assets may be reallocated through governance after the period ends.

Payments will be in-kind to LPs in affected pools, preserving the recovered tokens rather than converting to fiat.

The Safe Harbor framework and bounty terms require rewards to be paid in the same recovered tokens and mandate that rescues cannot be withdrawn directly from rescued assets.