What Is a Flash Loan Attack?
A flash loan attack is a type of malicious activity that takes advantage of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. It involves taking out a large amount of money from an automated market maker, such as Uniswap or Compound, and using it to manipulate prices in order to make a profit. The attacker does not need to put up any collateral for the loan and can quickly return the funds before anyone notices what has happened. This makes it difficult for exchanges and other DeFi protocols to detect these attacks until after they have already occurred.
Flash loans are attractive targets because they allow attackers to take advantage of price discrepancies between different markets without having to risk their own capital. For example, an attacker could use a flash loan to buy tokens on one exchange at a low price and then sell them on another exchange at a higher price, thus making an instant profit with no risk involved. Flash loans also enable attackers to carry out more complex strategies such as front-running trades or manipulating liquidity pools by providing false information about token prices or trading volumes.