Infinite Mint Attack
A flaw letting an attacker create unlimited tokens beyond the supply cap, then dump them for real value.
An infinite mint attack abuses a bug in a token contract's minting logic to print far more tokens than intended. The attacker mints out of thin air, then swaps the fake supply for legitimate assets or sells into the pool, collapsing the price.
Cover Protocol lost its token to this in 2020 when a flaw let users mint unlimited COVER. The fix is strict access control on mint functions and a hard supply cap enforced in code. Audits that check the arithmetic catch most of these before launch. Once minted tokens hit a market, the damage is usually done.
Related terms
A structured review of contract code that hunts for vulnerabilities before attackers find and exploit them.
BurnPermanently removing tokens from circulation by sending them to an address no one can spend from, shrinking supply.
Total SupplyEvery token that currently exists, including locked and reserved coins but excluding any that have been burned.
Flash Loan AttackAn exploit using an uncollateralized loan repaid in one transaction to manipulate prices and drain a protocol.