Solareum, a Telegram trading bot for trading Solana-based tokens, recently announced its closure after an exploit resulted in the theft of over 2,000 Solana (SOL) tokens from users’ wallets. The developers disclosed the shutdown citing a combination of insufficient funds, evolving market trends, and a recent security breach as reasons for the decision. They also mentioned that the platform can no longer assure the safety of users due to lack of funds and unsuccessful attempts to secure additional funding post the exploit. The loss suffered by the Telegram trading bot was over 2,800 SOL tokens, estimated at $523K, from 302 Solana users due to an alleged leak of private keys.
Initially, BONKbot, the largest Telegram trading bot on Solana, was suspected of being responsible for the exploit since 113 out of the 302 compromised wallet addresses were from their users. However, the security team behind BONKbot refuted these allegations, stating that the affected users had exported and used their private keys on a different Telegram bot. They later clarified that the bot in question was actually Solareum, although it remains unclear whether this exploit was caused by an external breach or an internal decision to rugpull customers. The team behind BONKbot emphasized that an exploit was triggered elsewhere in the ecosystem.
As accusations of an “exit scam” surfaced on Twitter, the Solareum team had to address these claims in an X post. They denied the allegations and clarified that while many users’ wallets were drained, they do not engage in stealing money. The team acknowledged that the exploit was part of a widespread issue affecting other bot projects and DApps as well. This incident is not the first time Solana-based wallets have been targeted by hackers, with previous reports of hackers stealing millions of dollars through phishing attacks and hacking incidents in the past.
Following the theft of funds, the Solareum development team has collaborated with authorities to freeze stolen assets if they are transferred to centralized exchanges. They have also announced the winding down of all active services and functionalities associated with Solareum in the coming weeks and urged users to retrieve any relevant data or assets promptly. However, there has been no mention of any compensation plan for affected users, leading to concern among victims who have threatened legal action if they are not reimbursed. Solareum’s closure and the subsequent theft of funds have raised questions about the safety and security of trading bots in the cryptocurrency space.
