✨ Normie Developers Enter Negotiations with Hacker
posted 27 May 2024
Normie, one of the largest meme coins on Base, has suffered a security breach. The project's developers quickly initiated negotiations with the responsible hacker.
On May 26, Normie dropped by more than 90% in just one hour, reducing its market capitalization from $42 million to $500,000. The cause was a hack into its smart contract, exploiting a vulnerability in its swapAndLiquify feature.
On May 26, Normie dropped by more than 90% in just one hour, reducing its market capitalization from $42 million to $500,000. The cause was a hack into its smart contract, exploiting a vulnerability in its swapAndLiquify feature.
The hacker responsible for this incident reached out to the developers with a proposition: they would return 90% of the stolen funds if the team added an additional 600 ETH (about $2.3 million) to ensure a fair restart with a new token. This act led the community to label the culprit as a white hat hacker.
Message from the hacker on the blockchain explorer. Source: x.com.
The hacker has asked for no retaliation or resistance against them. The team has agreed to negotiate, stating their intention to relaunch the token.
Exploiter, we accept your offer to return 90% of the exploited ETH. You may keep 10%, no reprisals. All $ETH from the Normie dev wallet will be used to assist in our relaunch.
The team clarified that they would only proceed with accepting the proposal after they regain control of their official X account, which was locked a few hours after the hack.
As the community watches these events unfold, impostors claiming to be Normie developers have emerged. Therefore, if you are impacted by the Normie hack, verify the authenticity of any sources offering restitution.
Details of the Normie Hack
Quick Intel was the first to identify a vulnerability in the smart contract of the Normie token. The project team promptly reported this issue on their X account.
The specific method of the hack remains unclear, but security experts suspect it involved exploiting a flaw in the swapAndLiquify function. Typically, this function controls token minting, but the Normie smart contract allowed for the unlimited creation of tokens.
The contract merely checked the balance of the team's wallet and permitted any corresponding address to generate new tokens. Essentially, anyone who created a wallet containing a sufficient amount of NORMIE was automatically granted the power to control the token's supply.
This is exactly what the hacker did. They spent $1.16 million to purchase 11.23 million NORMIE at an average price of $0.1035 from March 25 to April 9, holding onto them without selling.
Quick Intel estimates that the vulnerability affected 72,000 NORMIE holders. However, there were traders who managed to profit from the situation.
The Normie incident validated the "buy the dip" strategy. After the token plummeted, its market capitalization rebounded from $500,000 to $2.6 million. Those who bought at the lowest price saw their investments increase roughly fivefold.
Look at Me, I Lost My Tokens
In addition to those impersonating the token's developers, the internet has seen users pretending to be victims of the hack. The former are trying to swindle more money from those already affected by the hack, while the latter are mainly seeking attention.
One user on X (previously Twitter) shared a photo of a broken monitor, captioning it with a dramatic declaration of their departure from the crypto industry after losing NORMIE tokens. This post quickly attracted 707,000 views within a day.
Photo from a post, allegedly of a NORMIE hack victim. Source: x.com
These photos are fake and previously circulated online. Sensational headlines, dramatic images, and bold statements are typical means of drawing attention during Black Swan events (unpredictable market situations). This pattern was observed during the FTX bankruptcy, the altcoin crash in April 2024, and now with the Normie case.
Conspiracy Theories Surrounding the Normie Hack
A segment of the crypto community views the negotiations as a facade. According to their theory, the vulnerability was intentionally planted, and the entire incident was orchestrated by the team itself. This theory is bolstered by the disregard for warnings about the smart contract's vulnerabilities, the abrupt blocking of the team's X account, and the concessions made to the hacker.
Despite the community's penchant for conspiracy theories, it's important to remember that Normie is a meme coin, likely created informally by a group of enthusiasts.
Details about ongoing negotiations with the hacker are still shrouded in mystery, as is the status of these talks. Nonetheless, GN Crypto will continue to follow this developing story.
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