Solana-based DeFi memecoin platform Pump.fun experienced a significant breach on May 16 when an exploiter apparently utilized flash loans to manipulate the platform’s bonding curve contracts.The platform has since paused all trading activities.In a statement on social media, Pump.fun acknowledged the exploit and assured users that the platform is investigating the issue. The team wrote:“We have upgraded the contracts so the attacker cannot siphon any more funds. The TVL in the protocol right now is safe. We’ve paused trading — you cannot buy and sell any coins at the moment. Any coins that are currently in the process of migrating to Raydium cannot be traded and will not be migrating for an indefinite period of time.”Industry experts, including Wintermute head of research Igor Igamberdiev, suggested that a key had been compromised, raising the possibility of an inside job. He estimated the loss to be at least 12,000 SOL, equivalent to roughly $2 million.An account on X, identified as STACCoveflow, claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the exploit broke in the news. Stacc hinted at a larger motive in their posts, stating:“I’m about to change the course of history.”He implied that he did not intend to keep the stolen funds but planned to redistribute the “remaining balances of bonding curves” to certain token users. The exact method Stacc used to execute the attack remains unclear, and it is unknown if the balances are indeed being distributed to other users.The account allegedly belongs to a doxxed developer who previously worked on Pump.fun. Additionally, several accounts claimed that Stacc had airdropped the stolen SOL to holders of four different coins.However, CryptoSlate was unable to verify the claims on social media as of press time.AJ, a passionate journalist since Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring, has honed his skills worldwide for over a decade. Specializing in financial journalism, he now focuses on crypto reporting.CryptoSlate is a comprehensive and contextualized source for crypto news, insights, and data. Focusing on Bitcoin, macro, DeFi and AI. Catch the latest in crypto by following us on X. Stay informed on the go.Rob Marrocco believes crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum are unlikely without first establishing a futures market or changing regulation.Solana’s established dominance tested by Base’s impressive user and transaction surge.Solana’s validators MEV earnings have outsripped that of the Ethereum blockchain.Launched just over a week ago on the Solana blockchain, the MOTHER token has already reached a market capitalization of $186 million.CryptoSlate’s latest market report dives deep into the effects corporate Bitcoin purchases have on the market.Disclaimer: Our writers’ opinions are solely their own and do not reflect the opinion of CryptoSlate. None of the information you read on CryptoSlate should be taken as investment advice, nor does CryptoSlate endorse any project that may be mentioned or linked to in this article. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.
