BonkDAO said attackers drained about $20 million in BONK from its treasury through a malicious governance proposal. Bonk Inu’s official X account said the stolen tokens have already begun moving toward cryptocurrency exchanges, adding selling pressure to the memecoin. BONK fell by more than 9% as the market reacted.
According to the project, the attacker first pushed through a fraudulent governance proposal and then gained access to treasury funds. The unauthorized transaction allowed the wallet holding BonkDAO’s reserves to transfer a large amount of BONK without legitimate approval. BonkDAO has not shared technical details on how the proposal got past its governance protections, but its statement said the exploit targeted the governance process rather than the Solana blockchain itself.
Exchanges Track Wallet Activity While Upbit Halts Transfers
Bonk Inu said the movement of stolen tokens toward exchanges increased uncertainty in the market. Traders responded quickly to the risk of potential selling and to the scale of the treasury loss. South Korean exchange Upbit then announced a temporary suspension of BONK deposits and withdrawals while it assessed the impact of the incident and monitored blockchain activity tied to the stolen funds.
Upbit also told users that the service interruption would remain in place until further notice. The step came as exchanges watched wallet movements connected to the exploit.
Law Enforcement Notified as Recovery Efforts Begin
BonkDAO said it has informed law enforcement agencies about the incident and is working with relevant organizations to trace the stolen assets, recover funds where possible, and identify the people behind the attack. The project is now dealing with a major treasury loss while the investigation continues.
The case adds to growing concern around governance-based attacks on DAOs. Instead of breaching blockchain infrastructure directly, attackers try to manipulate voting systems or treasury controls to gain unauthorized access to community funds. BONK remains one of the best-known memecoins on Solana. The source material states that the token launched in December 2022, built a large community through its initial airdrop and ecosystem growth, and later secured listings on major crypto exchanges.