The crypto meme coin project BONK had its funds stolen after a vote in the governing DAO: the attacker pre-purchased a large batch of tokens, achieved the required quorum, and pushed through a decision to transfer 4.426 trillion BONK to a controlled wallet. At the time of the theft, this amount was valued at about $21.2 million.
BONK is considered one of the most prominent “dog” meme coins after Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The project appeared on the Solana network in 2022, and its coin is used in BonkDAO as a governance tool. In a market where most attention is often drawn by Bitcoin and Ethereum, this story has become a reminder of the risks of DAO mechanics.
How the Attacker Gained Control of the Vote
In BonkDAO, governance token holders can vote on decisions that affect the development of the project. Among them:
- Technical changes.
- Treasury fund management.
The more coins a participant has, the stronger their vote. In such a system, the blockchain token becomes not only an asset but also a way to influence governance.
The weak point was the voting model itself: a participant who quickly gathers a large batch of tokens gets decisive weight. In this scheme, additional barriers against vote concentration and restrictions on large treasury transfers after a single vote did not work.
On June 30, an unknown person put forward a proposal for a vote called “Revive the Project from the Ashes.” It proposed transferring 4.426 trillion BONK from the project’s treasury to another wallet. According to Lookonchain analysts, before this, the attacker bought 882.285 billion BONK for about $4.4 million on Bybit and Binance.
This was enough to exceed the quorum of 879.95 billion BONK required to submit a proposal. After that, the initiator voted “for” with their entire batch, the proposal passed, and 4.426 trillion BONK, valued at about $21.2 million, was automatically sent to a wallet under their control.
Where the Funds Went and What the BONK Team Is Doing
On-chain researchers tracked further movement of part of the assets. The amount of BONK, USD equivalent, and location:
- 40 billion BONK — about $188,000 — OKX.
- 4.386 trillion BONK — about $19.3 million — crypto wallet.
In such a situation, an exchange or online digital currency service can become an important point for tracking further transfers.
Currently, BonkDAO is actively cooperating with exchanges, bridges, and the Solana Foundation to best resolve the situation. Law enforcement agencies have been notified.
Key steps around asset recovery are now related to tracking transfers, interacting with exchanges and bridges, as well as involving the Solana Foundation and law enforcement agencies.
For projects in the Solana ecosystem, the incident was a blow to trust in DAO mechanics: even without a smart contract hack, a large holder can push through a decision that benefits them. Such cases may push teams toward stricter quorum rules, limits on treasury transfers, and additional checks for large votes.
After reports of the incident, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit warned clients about a temporary suspension of BONK deposits and withdrawals. South Korean traders are known for their high activity in the meme coin market, and Upbit is among the top five largest platforms by BONK trading volume.
What Is Happening to the BONK Price
Amid the news, the BONK token came under pressure. It ranks 91st among the largest cryptocurrencies with a capitalization of about $380 million. Over the past 24 hours, the meme coin has lost about 10% of its value.
What Risks This Shows for Meme Coins
The BONK story highlighted several risks that are important for meme coin investors:
- Governance vulnerabilities: a large batch of tokens can give too much influence over voting.
- High volatility: the price of a meme coin can drop sharply amid news and market panic.
- Weak fundamental support: for many meme coins, value depends more on community attention and trader sentiment.
This story is not related to political initiatives like the Department of Government Efficiency: it is about a weak spot in decentralized governance, where a large batch of coins can change the outcome of a vote and open access to treasury funds. BONK’s further prospects will depend on whether the assets can be returned, community trust restored, and DAO governance rules strengthened.
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Article”,
“about”: [
{
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “BONK”
},
{
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “BonkDAO”
},
{
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Solana”
},
{
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Upbit”
},
{
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Binance”
},
{
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “Bitcoin”
},
{
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “Ethereum”
},
{
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “Dogecoin”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “cryptocurrency”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “token”
}
]
}
