Zilliqa CEO Alexander Zahnd stepped down on October 27, 2026, marking the blockchain's second chief executive departure since April 2025. His resignation at his own request comes as Zilliqa investigates a security breach on its X-Bridge cross-chain bridge. While Zilliqa has not disclosed losses, decentralized exchange PlunderSwap reported around $800,000 stolen. X-Bridge remains suspended in both directions while Zilliqa's board takes direct operational oversight.
Zilliqa leadership changes
- ▪Alexander Zahnd stepped down as CEO of layer-1 blockchain Zilliqa at his own request on October 27, 2026, with no successor named
- ▪Alexander Zahnd's departure marks Zilliqa's second chief executive exit since April 2025, when previous CEO Matt Dyer stepped down following a $42,000 X-Bridge exploit in February 2025
Token impacts and financial losses
- ▪Decentralized exchange PlunderSwap stated that approximately $800,000 was stolen from X-Bridge during the security incident disclosed on October 27, 2026
- ▪Decentralized exchange PlunderSwap reported that zUSDC, zUSDT, zWBTC, and XCAD lost their backing following the X-Bridge security breach disclosed on October 27, 2026, prompting PlunderSwap to remove them from its token list
- ▪Zilliqa confirmed that affected tokens in the X-Bridge security incident disclosed on October 27, 2026 include zUSDT, SEED, kUSD, and Zoge, while native ZIL and the Zilliqa EVM network were unaffected
- ▪Zilliqa has not disclosed an official figure for the financial losses resulting from the X-Bridge security incident disclosed on October 27, 2026
Zilliqa response and X-Bridge status
- ▪Zilliqa is investigating security incidents disclosed on October 27, 2026 affecting its cross-chain bridge X-Bridge and ZRC2 proxy contracts used by liquidity pools, including PlunderSwap
- ▪Zilliqa instructed users on October 27, 2026 to stay away from X-Bridge and its affected liquidity pools, including PlunderSwap's pools, until further notice
- ▪In response to the X-Bridge security incidents disclosed on October 27, 2026, Zilliqa is replacing every operational key and contacting cryptocurrency exchanges and law enforcement
- ▪Zilliqa's cross-chain bridge X-Bridge remains suspended following security incidents disclosed on October 27, 2026, with no reopening date disclosed
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