Kava token plunges nearly 50% after bridged tokens are dumped on BSC

On-chain data shows that about 48.3 million KAVA tokens were transferred from the Kava network to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and then sold for BNB on a decentralized exchange.

The tokens were worth between $3.2 million and $3.3 million at the time of the transfer. Within a single hour, KAVA fell more than 40%, reaching a low of $0.037 to $0.038 by the end of the day.

The Kava team moved quickly to address fears of a security breach. It stated that the abnormal activity was confined to the Kava Lend lending protocol and was not caused by a minting exploit or unlimited issuance error.

Exchanges suspend trading

Several partner exchanges did not wait for a detailed explanation and preemptively suspended KAVA deposits and withdrawals. Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone cited concerns about the security of the Kava chain.

The suspensions reduce where KAVA can move freely and the timing of any reopening will depend on how comfortable the exchanges become with Kava’s security picture.

The bridge between Kava and BSC was completed in December 2025, which allowed the tokens to travel from Kava’s own chain to BSC and be sold.

Kava previously set its token inflation to zero by the end of 2023, meaning the supply was only supposed to shrink through burning, with no new issuance. This fixed-supply model makes a mint exploit particularly damaging.

What to watch next

The market is being asked to take the team’s explanation on trust, as it has not yet disclosed the root cause or offered a timeline for resolving the underlying issue.

For holders, the immediate question is whether the tokens that were sold came from a contained protocol failure or something deeper. Kava has not yet offered a full incident report explaining how the tokens ended up bridged and sold.

Key developments to watch include whether Kava publishes a detailed report, whether any affected Kava Lend users are made whole, and when Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone restore deposits and withdrawals.