Is Venus Protocol Safe?
Risk Grade: C (49/100)
Venus Protocol is rated as elevated risk — multiple novel mechanisms and notable interaction risks.
High risk — two separate incidents caused $300M+ in losses, and the protocol depends on a blockchain that can be manually shut down
The largest lending protocol on the BNB Chain, where you deposit crypto to earn interest or borrow against your holdings. It manages $1.9B in deposits. Its C- grade reflects two devastating incidents: a $200M+ price manipulation attack in 2021 and $100M+ in bad debt from a blockchain shutdown in 2022.
TVL
$1.3B
Mechanisms
7
Interactions
5
Value Grade
C+
Key Risks for Venus Protocol Users
Attackers pumped the governance token price in 2021 to borrow $200M+ against fake collateral value -- the same attack can happen with any listed token
When the BNB Chain was halted during a $568M bridge hack in 2022, Venus could not process any liquidations and accumulated over $100M in bad debt
Team members have been targeted by social engineering attacks -- one phishing attack in 2025 cost a user $27M, and a 2022 Zoom hijack drained $680K
Top Risk Factors
- •History of severe incidents: $200M+ XVS price manipulation liquidation cascade (2021) and $100M+ bad debt from BNB bridge hack (2022)
- •VAI stablecoin peg relies on algorithmic mechanisms backed by volatile crypto collateral on a single chain (BSC)
- •BSC validator centralization risk: chain halts (as in BNB bridge hack) can prevent liquidations and trap protocol assets
Risk Score Breakdown
Venus Protocol's highest risk area is Track Record (15/15). Here's how each dimension contributes to the overall 49/100 score:
Read the Full Venus Protocol Risk Report
This protocol has 2 collapse scenarios. 1 critical and 3 high-severity interaction risks identified. See the full mechanism classification, interaction matrix, and deep-dive recommendations.
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