Hacker Drains $20M From Bonk Memecoin via Fake Governance Vote

Bonk, a popular dog-themed memecoin built on the Solana blockchain, suffered a $20 million treasury theft through a loophole in its decentralized governance system. An attacker purchased enough Bonk tokens to gain voting control, then used that power to pass a proposal redirecting the entire DAO treasury to a wallet under their control. The perpetrator spent roughly $4 million acquiring the tokens needed to execute the attack, making it economically viable despite the substantial acquisition cost.

Once the funds were transferred, the attacker began liquidating the stolen Bonk tokens on crypto exchanges. The stolen assets were tracked to multiple platforms, including the South Korea-based exchange Upbit, which suspended Bonk deposits and withdrawals to prevent further movement of the compromised funds. The rapid deposit of stolen funds to exchanges suggests the attacker’s goal was to convert the tokens to other cryptocurrencies or fiat currency and exit with the proceeds.

The Bonk team has notified law enforcement and initiated recovery efforts. The incident highlights a critical weakness in DAO governance systems that rely on token voting: if voting thresholds are set too low or voting power is insufficiently distributed, a single actor with enough capital can exploit the system to seize community assets. Other DAOs using similar governance structures face comparable risks unless they implement additional safeguards like multi-signature approvals, time delays for sensitive proposals, or higher quorum requirements.