The Normie (NORMIE) token recently experienced a major setback as its value plummeted by a staggering 99% within a period of three hours due to a smart contract exploit. This exploit led to a significant drop in the token’s market cap from a substantial $42 million to a mere $200,000. The aftermath of the exploit has left developers of the Base meme coin scrambling to engage in discussions with the individual responsible for the incident in an attempt to recover 90% of the stolen funds.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain was quick to detect the exploit and the subsequent offer made by the hacker. In a bold move, the hacker reached out to Normie’s deployer address on May 26, proposing to return 90% of the stolen NORMIE tokens. The hacker’s conditions included allowing them to keep the remaining 10% as a bug bounty with no repercussions attached. Additionally, the hacker demanded that the stolen funds, along with approximately 600 ETH worth around $3,900 in the team’s dev wallet, be utilized to launch a new token to compensate NORMIE holders.
The team behind Normie acknowledged the necessity to re-launch the token following the exploit, but faced additional challenges as their main Twitter account was suspended, and a newly established account was also short-lived before being suspended. The hacker remained firm on their demands, insisting on a token relaunch before returning the funds to ensure their proper utilization. This uncompromising stance left many investors, including an anonymous trader who initially invested $1.16 million into NORMIE tokens, facing significant losses as the token’s value plunged.
Market Fluctuations and Recovery
The impact of the exploit was drastic, with NORMIE’s price plummeting by over 92% within the first hour of the attack, followed by a further decline of 99.5% after two and a half hours. The token hit rock bottom at $0.00022, representing a staggering 98.2% decrease from its all-time high. Despite the initial nosedive, Normie has displayed signs of recovery, with its market cap standing at $1,043,837, and its price at $0.001053 at the time of writing. This marks a notable 57% increase in value over the past 24 hours.
NORMIE entered the cryptocurrency scene amidst the meme coin craze on Base in March 2024, quickly gaining traction and reaching a peak market cap of $130 million on April 2. However, the devastating exploit and subsequent fallout have highlighted the risks associated with such speculative assets and the vulnerability of decentralized systems to exploitative practices. Investors and developers alike are now forced to reassess their strategies and ensure robust security measures are in place to mitigate such incidents in the future.
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