Empowa Suffers Unauthorized Transfer Incident, Approximately 4.24 Million EMP and 143,700 ADA Stolen

Empowa, a Cardano ecosystem project, disclosed two interrelated unauthorized asset transfer incidents across its three project wallets. Between November 2025 and June 2026, approximately 143,710 ADA were transferred out of one project treasury wallet in 18 transactions. The corresponding Midnight airdrop for this wallet was also registered and claimed by an unknown party using the private key, with approximately 36,000 NIGHT already transferred away. From June 2026 to August 2026, a cumulative total of approximately 4.24 million EMP tokens were transferred out of the other two project wallets, with portions sold via platforms such as Minswap and VyFi. Empowa stated that the funds from both incidents ultimately flowed into the same intermediate wallet, indicating they are controlled by the same party, although the identity of the individuals operating these private keys cannot currently be confirmed. The team has hired a professional blockchain investigation firm and plans to seek KYC information from the centralized exchange where the related funds ultimately entered.