Is Ankr Safe?
Risk Grade: C+ (37/100)
Ankr is rated as elevated risk — multiple novel mechanisms and notable interaction risks.
Ankr is a well-established liquid staking and infrastructure provider, but the 2022 insider exploit is a significant mark on its track record. Post-exploit security improvements have been implemented, but the incident demonstrates the real risk of supply chain attacks in crypto. The multi-chain approach provides diversification but also broadens the attack surface. Moderate risk for users who value the convenience of multi-chain liquid staking.
Ankr is a Web3 infrastructure provider that offers liquid staking services across 9+ Proof-of-Stake blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Fantom. When you stake your tokens through Ankr, you receive liquid staking tokens (like ankrETH for Ethereum) that represent your staked position and can be used in other DeFi applications while continuing to earn staking rewards. Ankr also provides RPC node infrastructure used by many Web3 applications. The ANKR token has no built-in inflation, and node providers must stake 100,000 ANKR as collateral.
TVL
$21M
Mechanisms
7
Interactions
4
Value Grade
C-
Key Risks for Ankr Users
Ankr suffered a $5M exploit in December 2022 that was confirmed as an insider attack by a former employee who inserted malicious code
Multi-chain liquid staking across many blockchains creates a wide attack surface where a vulnerability on any chain could affect users
The protocol has centralized control over validator selection and contract upgrades, creating trust dependencies
Liquid staking tokens can temporarily lose their peg to the underlying asset during market stress, as seen across the LST sector
Top Risk Factors
- •December 2022 exploit ($5M stolen) was confirmed as an inside job by a former employee who inserted malicious code enabling unlimited token minting — demonstrates supply chain and insider threat risk
- •Multi-chain liquid staking across 9+ tokens (ankrETH, ankrPOL, ankrAVAX, etc.) creates a wide attack surface; a vulnerability in any single chain integration could cascade
- •Centralized operator control over validator selection and protocol upgrades creates trust dependency despite governance mechanisms
How Ankr Compares to Peers
Ankr ranks #65 of 86 Liquid Staking protocols (below-median — riskier than average). At a risk score of 37/100, it's 5 points riskier than the sector average of 32/100.
Adjacent peers: WEMIX.FI Staking (C+, 36/100) is ranked just safer, and Mellow Restaking (C+, 37/100) is ranked just riskier.
See the full Liquid Staking sector leaderboard or the Ankr vs Mellow Restaking comparison.
Common Questions about Ankr
Plain-English answers based on Ankr's scores across Hindenrank's 8 risk dimensions. The highest-scoring (riskiest) dimension is Track Record (12/15).
Has Ankr ever been hacked or exploited?
Ankr has a documented incident history that materially raised its risk grade — the track record dimension scored 12/15, near the high end of the scale. Past exploits, governance failures, or contract issues are baked into this rating. Anyone considering deposits should review the incident details before allocating capital.
How much money is at stake in Ankr?
Ankr currently holds roughly $21M in user deposits. Smaller TVL means individual depositors carry a larger share of any loss event, and it can be harder to exit a position quickly during stress.
What's the worst-case scenario for Ankr?
Hindenrank has identified specific collapse scenarios for Ankr. The most prominent: "Repeat Insider Supply Chain Attack". The trigger condition is Compromised employee or contractor inserts malicious code into a protocol upgrade, enabling unauthorized minting or fund extraction. Reading through the full scenario list on the protocol page is the single best way to understand the actual failure modes — generic "smart contract risk" is rarely the thing that takes a protocol down.
Is Ankr regulated or insured?
Ankr has low regulatory exposure on Hindenrank's framework (3/10). The protocol is structured in a way that minimizes counterparty and jurisdiction concentration, though regulatory risk in crypto can change rapidly. No DeFi protocol carries FDIC-style insurance — even with low regulatory risk, depositors are not protected in the way bank customers are.
What are the biggest red flags for Ankr?
Hindenrank's retail-focused risk audit flagged: Ankr suffered a $5M exploit in December 2022 that was confirmed as an insider attack by a former employee who inserted malicious code Multi-chain liquid staking across many blockchains creates a wide attack surface where a vulnerability on any chain could affect users The protocol has centralized control over validator selection and contract upgrades, creating trust dependencies
Should beginners deposit into Ankr?
Ankr's C+ grade puts it in the elevated-risk band. This is not a beginner-friendly protocol. Anyone depositing here should treat the position as speculative and avoid concentrating significant savings in it.
How does Ankr compare to safer Liquid Staking alternatives?
Ankr is one protocol in Hindenrank's Liquid Staking coverage. The safest Liquid Staking protocols on the leaderboard tend to share three traits: a long incident-free track record, conservative mechanism design, and high-quality public documentation. Compare Ankr against the full Liquid Staking ranking before committing capital.
For the full 8-dimension score breakdown, the radar chart, and dependency graph, see the Ankr risk report.
Read the Full Ankr Risk Report
This protocol has 2 collapse scenarios. 2 high-severity interaction risks identified. See the full mechanism classification, interaction matrix, and deep-dive recommendations.
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