Eight days after losing roughly $36 million in an exploit, Humanity Protocol has laid out its complete recovery roadmap. On June 16, the project unveiled a newly audited H token, a 1:1 airdrop for all holders affected by the breach, a dedicated compensation fund for edge cases, and a plan to relaunch the Humanity mainnet within weeks.
How the Exploit Unfolded
On June 8, an attacker sent a phishing email to a project director, gained access to compromised credentials, and used them to infiltrate Humanity Protocol's BNB Chain deployment. Approximately $36 million was drained. Security firm Quantstamp investigated the incident, confirmed the funds remain unrecovered, and traced the attack to actors linked to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Following the breach, the original H tokens on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Humanity Mainnet were all sunsetted.
New Token, Same Balances
Humanity Protocol deployed a fresh audited ERC-20 H token on Ethereum. To determine eligibility, the team captured balance snapshots at three block numbers recorded just before the exploit: Ethereum block 25,274,179, BNB Chain block 103,071,069, and Mainnet block 24,247,803. Every eligible holder receives the new H token at a 1:1 ratio against their pre-exploit balance. Wallets connected to the attacker, as identified by Quantstamp, are excluded entirely from distribution. Externally owned accounts get tokens sent directly. Balances trapped inside liquidity pools and smart contracts are being moved into a dedicated vault while the team works through verification with affected stakeholders.
Compensation Fund for Three Groups
Not every affected user qualifies through the standard airdrop. To cover those who don't, Humanity Protocol created an H Compensation Fund addressing three categories: users with exposure through third-party protocol integrations, users with decentralized liquidity pool positions, and anyone who bought H tokens after the June 8 snapshot and still holds them. Because Quantstamp's investigation tied the hack to DPRK-linked actors, all compensation claimants must pass identity verification before any funds are released. A dedicated claims portal has been set up for this process.
Mainnet Relaunch Timeline
The Humanity mainnet will relaunch in the coming weeks. The new H token will function as the network's native gas token once the network is back live. The team is currently coordinating with centralized exchanges, bridge providers, and liquidity partners to manage the migration. For anyone holding H tokens on an exchange, the team's advice is straightforward: wait for your exchange's official announcement on the migration before taking any action.
The $36 million stolen on June 8 has not been recovered, and Humanity Protocol has not suggested it will be. What the plan delivers instead is restored balances for holders who were in before the exploit, a clean contract replacing the compromised one, and a path to a functioning network again.