Definition ∞ A Collateral Token Exploit involves manipulating or compromising digital assets held as security in decentralized finance protocols. This attack typically targets vulnerabilities in smart contract logic, oracle feeds, or tokenomics to illicitly withdraw collateral or destabilize the protocol’s solvency. Such events can result in significant financial losses for users and protocol operators.
Context ∞ Reports of collateral token exploits frequently appear in cryptocurrency news, often leading to market instability and a loss of trust in affected protocols. The ongoing debate concerns enhancing smart contract auditing, improving oracle reliability, and developing more robust risk management frameworks to prevent future incidents.