Gate.io suspends withdrawals of SafeMoon following public burn bug exploit

The fallout from the collapse of SafeMoon’s liquidity pool on Mar. 28 continues as Gate.io suspends deposits and withdrawals of the token.

“As the smart contract of the SFM (SafeMoon) token has been attacked, Gate.io has suspended the deposit and withdrawal of SFM (SafeMoon) for the safety of your assets,” the company said in a blog post dated Mar. 29.

SFM Exploit

The move comes after a public burn bug was allegedly compromised after a bug to remove SFM tokens from the SafeMoon WBNB Liquidity Pool led to the artificial inflation of the token’s price.

According to DeFi Mark, a Solidity developer who Tweeted about the attack, it was the “public burn function” that was exploited and led to the tune of $8.9 million being drained from the liquidity pool.

SFM responds

Following the exploit, SafeMoon has assured its users that it is taking swift actions to resolve the issue. CEO John Karony has clarified that the decentralized exchange remains safe and that the exploit was limited to the SFM WBNB liquidity pool. He also stated that the DEX’s team has met with key advisors and formulated a plan to protect token holders and the community.

Interestingly, the hackers reportedly attached a note in one transaction hours after the exploit, stating that they intended to return the exploited funds. According to PeckShield, the hackers have already returned 4000 Binance Coin (BNB) —worth over $1.2 million.

SFM has tanked on the news, with the token down over 13% in 24 hour trading.

Source