In a significant development within the crypto industry, decentralized exchange Bunni has announced its imminent shutdown following an $8.4 million exploit that compromised its platform in September. This marks another instance this week where ambitious blockchain projects are being forced to cease operations amidst setbacks, raising concerns over security and sustainability in the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem.
- Bunni, a decentralized exchange leveraging Uniswap v4, is shutting down after an $8.4 million exploit in September.
- The attack exploited vulnerabilities in Bunni’s smart contract code, leading to halted operations and a financial loss.
- Despite the closure, the team is open-sourcing its v2 smart contracts under an MIT license to promote transparency and ongoing developer innovation.
- Assets remaining on the platform will be withdrawn by users, with remaining funds to be redistributed to token holders after legal approvals.
- The Kadena blockchain’s founding team also announced the end of support due to adverse market conditions, emphasizing ongoing challenges in the crypto space.
Bunni DEX exploited in September
The decentralized exchange Bunni was hit on September 2, resulting in a theft of approximately $8.4 million across Ethereum and layer-2 network Unichain. The breach exploited vulnerabilities within Bunni’s custom smart contract code, halting operations and leaving users unable to access their assets.
In a detailed blog post on September 4, the Bunni team confirmed that malicious actors took advantage of flaws in the protocol’s codebase. Built on Uniswap v4, Bunni aimed to optimize liquidity provider returns through its innovative Liquidity Distribution Function, which sought to increase efficiency and profitability for users.
Prior to the exploit, Bunni experienced rapid growth, with total value locked (TVL) soaring from $2.23 million in June to nearly $80 million in August, according to data from DefiLlama. The platform’s meteoric rise reflected strong community interest and adoption of its DeFi mechanisms.
Open-sourcing the code and shutdown plans
Despite ceasing operations, Bunni’s development team has decided to relicence their smart contracts from Business Source License to an open-source MIT license. This move has been welcomed by the crypto community, as it allows developers worldwide to build upon and improve Bunni’s innovative features, such as the liquidity distribution functions, surge fees, and autonomous rebalancing systems.
As part of its latest update, the team stated that users would be able to withdraw their assets from the platform until further notice. Remaining funds in the treasury will be redistributed to BUNNI, LIT, and veBUNNI token holders once all necessary legal measures are completed. Importantly, the team emphasized that no members will receive any remaining funds, prioritizing user asset recovery and transparency.
Additionally, Bunni’s team is working with law enforcement agencies to recover the stolen funds, reaffirming its commitment to security and accountability in the crypto space.
Kadena’s supporting team exits amid market struggles
The upheaval extends beyond Bunni, as the Kadena blockchain’s founding team announced Tuesday that it would cease network support and operations. The decision stems from challenging market conditions that have strained the project’s sustainability.
While the Kadena network will continue to exist as a community-driven platform, the active support and development from the original team are ending. The native token, KDA, has plummeted over 70% since the announcement, now trading at approximately $0.06, reflecting the broader struggles faced by many crypto projects amid market volatility.
The shutdown highlights ongoing difficulties faced by blockchain startups navigating an increasingly competitive and regulatory landscape within the cryptocurrency markets.
