The meme coin Normie (NORMIE), built on Ethereum’s Layer 2 network Base, has fallen victim to a smart contract exploit, leading to a staggering 99% drop in its token value.
The attack, which targeted a vulnerability in the token’s tax function, allowed the attacker to manipulate Normie’s total supply, effectively draining its liquidity pools.
TLDR
Normie token’s price plummeted 99% within three hours after attackers exploited a vulnerability in the token’s smart contract tax function, manipulating the token’s total supply.
The exploit drained Normie’s liquidity pools, causing its market cap to crash from nearly $42 million to around $200,000 at its lowest point.
The attacker offered to return 90% of the stolen funds if the Normie team agreed to relaunch the project and use the returned funds, along with the 600 ETH (~$2.3 million) in the dev wallet, to reimburse affected NORMIE token holders.
The attacker criticized Normie’s contract code as a “copy-paste” job, suggesting that the developers did not thoroughly review the code before deploying it.
One NORMIE investor suffered a massive loss, with their $1.6 million investment plummeting to just $150 due to the attack.
Within a mere three hours, Normie’s market capitalization plummeted from a healthy $42 million to a meager $200,000 at its lowest point. The incident shocked the Normie community, with many token holders reporting significant losses.
The attacker, in an unexpected move, has offered to return 90% of the stolen funds under the condition that the Normie team relaunches the project.
The proposal stipulates that the returned funds, along with the 600 ETH (approximately $2.3 million) held in the project’s development wallet, be used to fairly compensate affected NORMIE token holders through the issuance of a new token.
In a series of on-chain messages, the attacker criticized Normie’s smart contract code, calling it a “copy-paste” job and suggesting that the developers had not thoroughly reviewed the code before deploying it.
The attacker pointed out that the vulnerable tax logic found in Normie’s contract is present in several other token contracts, many of which predate Normie.
The Normie team has accepted the attacker’s offer, assuring that there will be no reprisals and committing to using all the ETH in their development wallet to rectify the situation and assist in the project’s relaunch.
On-chain data reveals that the Normie developer wallet currently holds about 736 ETH, valued at approximately $11.7 million.
One investor, in particular, suffered a devastating loss, watching helplessly as their $1.6 million investment in NORMIE shrank to a mere $150 in the wake of the attack.
Prior to the incident, Normie had enjoyed a measure of success since its launch on Base in March 2023, riding the wave of the meme coin frenzy that followed the introduction of the Dencun Upgrade, which significantly reduced fees for Ethereum layer-2 networks. The project had even reached a market capitalization exceeding $100 million at its peak.
The road ahead for Normie is uncertain, with the team facing the daunting task of relaunching the project and ensuring the fair compensation of affected token holders.
However, the attacker’s willingness to return a significant portion of the stolen funds, albeit with conditions attached, offers a glimmer of hope for the project’s future.
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