The Solana ecosystem and its memecoin sector have been shaken by a serious incident. BonkDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization managing the treasury of the popular memecoin BONK, reported the theft of assets worth approximately $20 million. The attacker exploited a vulnerability in the governance system by passing a malicious proposal through a vote.
According to the BonkDAO team, the attack was carefully planned. An unknown participant, presumably holding a large token stake, initiated and conducted a vote on a proposal that allowed funds to be withdrawn from the treasury. Technical details of the attack and the exact parameters of the vote have not yet been disclosed, but the community has already identified the specific proposal — Bonk Improvement Proposal #76.
How It Happened
According to analysis, the BIP-76 proposal was disguised as an initiative to implement "Sowellian governance" and appoint new council members. However, the main goal was to monetize the DAO's assets. After the proposal was passed, BONK tokens were transferred to an address that analysts linked to funding via the Bybit exchange. A few hours later, the funds were moved to another wallet, likely for further withdrawal or to cover tracks.
This is a classic example of an attack where holders of a large volume of tokens use their voting weight to manipulate the governance system. The vote was conducted through the Solana Realms platform, a standard tool for DAO governance in the Solana ecosystem. Notably, according to journalists, the tokens were not distributed among voting participants — the attacker acted alone.
The market reaction was swift. Major exchanges, including Upbit and Kraken, temporarily suspended operations with BONK, blocking token deposits and withdrawals to prevent further manipulation. In the wake of the incident, the price of BONK dropped by 7.7% over the past 24 hours, trading around $0.00000432.
BonkDAO has stated that it is actively cooperating with exchanges, bridge protocols, and the Solana Foundation to manage the situation. The team has also identified exchange wallets used to purchase BONK before the malicious proposal was submitted, offering hope for recovering some of the funds.
Context and Consequences
This incident occurs against a backdrop of a general decline in activity on memecoin platforms. In June 2026, the number of daily token launches on Pump.fun dropped by 30% compared to spring figures, indicating waning interest in memecoins. The attack on BonkDAO could further undermine trust in decentralized governance systems, especially in the memecoin sector, where security is often sacrificed for speed and hype.
Expert opinion: This case is a stark reminder that DAOs, particularly in the memecoin sector, remain vulnerable to governance attacks. Until teams implement multi-layered verification mechanisms and time delays for large transactions, such incidents will recur. Investors should pay closer attention to the voting structure of the projects they invest in.