BonkDAO says it has suffered a major governance attack that drained about $20 million worth of BONK from its treasury. The DAO oversees one of Solana’s biggest memecoin ecosystems and now faces hard questions about how attackers used its voting system against it.
How the Attack Emptied BonkDAO’s Treasury
BonkDAO explains that it “was the target of a malicious governance proposal” that moved a large stash of BONK from its treasury to an attacker‑controlled wallet. On‑chain analysts estimate roughly $20 million in BONK left the DAO after the proposal passed, following a short but intense voting push. Instead of breaking a smart contract, the attacker bought voting power and then used the project’s own rules to authorize the transfer.
According to on‑chain researcher Yu Jin’s monitoring, the attacker spent about $4.4 million to buy BONK and secure enough votes before submitting the proposal. After gaining a decisive share of the governance tokens, they passed the measure and quickly drained the treasury. This method shows how token‑weighted voting can become a serious weak point when a single actor can collect and wield large amounts of voting power.
BonkDAO’s Response and Market Reaction
In its public statement on X, BonkDAO said it has “identified the exchange wallets used to purchase BONK ahead of the proposal” and is actively working with exchanges, bridges, and the Solana Foundation to best manage the situation. The DAO added that it has reported the incident to law enforcement as part of a wider effort to recover funds.
BonkDAO and external analysts are monitoring the stolen BONK as it heads toward controlled exchanges, where it might be sold or frozen.
According to Korean media, local exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, have suspended BONK deposits and withdrawals as they examine tokens originating from the exploit. Meanwhile, other markets have seen BONK drop around 9%, indicating traders are jittery about both governance issues and the potential for another attack.
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