The Normie Memecoin Plummets 99% After Devastating Smart Contract Exploit
The price of Normie (NORMIE), a memecoin on Ethereum’s Layer 2 Base network, plummeted by 99% within hours following a devastating smart contract exploit. The incident temporarily gutted Normie’s market cap from nearly $42 million to just $200,000, leaving the team scrambling to negotiate with the hacker and devise a recovery plan for affected token holders.
The Devastating Exploit
How $NORMIE got exploited and went from $40m MC to $100k MC within 1 minute, who else is effected, and what the @NormieBase team can do to fix this situation:
1. The exploiter's wallet was funded by secret network
On May 26, a hacker exploited a vulnerability in Normie’s contract tax mechanism through a flash loan attack. This allowed them to drastically inflate the token supply, causing the token’s value to crash. The exploit highlighted significant risks in the decentralised finance (DeFi) space, particularly for memecoins, which often lack rigorous security measures.
Immediate Impact on Normie’s Market Cap
The exploit had an immediate and severe impact on Normie’s market capitalisation. The token’s price began to fall at 3:55 am UTC and, within an hour, had plummeted over 92% to $0.0032. By the end of the ordeal, its value had dropped by 99.8%, reducing its market cap from $41 million to approximately $1.3 million. According to CoinGecko, the market cap bottomed at $200,000 before a slight recovery.
Negotiations with the Hacker
The $NORMIE exploiter sent a message to Normie Deployer.
The team behind Normie confirmed that they were negotiating with the hacker to return 90% of the stolen funds. The hacker proposed returning the funds on the condition that Normie use the stolen assets and $2.3 million from its development wallet to launch a new token to reimburse NORMIE holders. The hacker also demanded no reprisals in exchange for the return of the funds.
Normie Team’s Response and Future Plans
Normie’s team has accepted the hacker’s terms, stating they will re-launch the token after recovering the funds and reinstating their suspended social media accounts. They assured the community that all the ETH in their development wallet, valued at approximately $11.7 million, would be used to rectify the situation and assist in the relaunch. The team urged affected token holders to register for a snapshot to receive compensation in the new token contract.
Insights from Analysts
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain and on-chain analyst Golden Degen provided detailed insights into the exploit. Lookonchain was among the first to spot the exploit and highlighted its severe impact on traders, including a trader whose $1.16 million investment was reduced to less than $150. Golden Degen elaborated on the attack, explaining that the hacker’s wallet was funded through the Secret Network and that the exploit leveraged a loophole in Normie’s contract to mint and sell tokens.
— yourfriendSOMMI ❤️💛💚💙 (@yourfriendSOMMI) May 26, 2024
This incident underscores the importance of robust contract design and rigorous security measures in the DeFi space. A recent investigation found that 91% of Base memecoins have vulnerabilities that could expose users to significant losses. Experts suggest that projects invest in qualified developers and comprehensive security audits to prevent such exploits.
Conclusion
The catastrophic collapse of Normie serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within the DeFi ecosystem, particularly for memecoins. While the Normie team is working on a recovery plan, the incident highlights the critical need for enhanced security measures and more responsible project management to safeguard investor interests in the volatile crypto market.
