Memecoin trader loses over $1M following Normie exploit

An Unfortunate Trader Loses Over $1 Million in Normie Memecoin Exploit

A hapless trader has lost over $1 million worth of digital assets following the Normie memecoin exploit.

The memecoin enthusiast invested $1.16 million to acquire 11.23 million Normie (NORMIE) memecoins, only to see his initial investment plummet over 99% to a mere $150, as reported by Lookonchain on May 26:

“He spent $1.16M to buy 11.23M $NORMIE at $0.1035 from Mar 25 to Apr 9 and has held it until now without selling it.”

Trader’s Normie Buys Source: Lookonchain

Normie, a Base-native memecoin, fell victim to a smart contract exploit that depleted the token's market capitalization by over $41.7 million in just three hours. Lookonchain initially flagged the exploit on May 26.

Normie's value plummeted by over 96% in the wake of the exploit, with its market cap bottoming out around $200,000 before staging a modest recovery, according to CoinGecko data.

Normie/USDT, 1-day Chart. Source: Coingecko

On May 27, the Normie team reportedly accepted the hacker's proposal to return 90% of the stolen NORMIE tokens. This agreement stipulated that Normie would utilize the returned funds, alongside $2.3 million from the team's development wallet, to launch a new token to compensate NORMIE holders.

The hacker has insisted that the token launch must precede the return of the stolen funds, as stated in a blockchain message from the exploiter obtained by Lookonchain.

“The dev wallet made significantly more than I did during this exploit, and I have no other way to ensure that those funds are used appropriately.”

Normie Exploiter Message. Source: Lookonchain

Following the hacker's offer, a deluge of fraudulent Normie announcements flooded the internet, falsely claiming to herald the relaunch of the new token. These posts aimed to entice individuals into clicking on deceptive links.

Over 72,000 Normie holders were affected by the smart contract exploit, which was initially detected in March, as reported by on-chain analytics firm Quick Intel on May 26.

Related: Ether Price Could Hit $4.5K Before ETH ETF: DeFiance Capital Founder
Memecoin Season Continues, Sending Pepe to New All-Time High
Despite this unfortunate incident, memecoin traders remain undeterred, continuing to invest in animal-themed cryptocurrencies.

Frog-themed memecoin Pepe (PEPE) reached a new all-time high of $0.00001718 on May 27, surging over 75% during the past week, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Pepe/USDT, 4-hour Chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Memecoins, lacking intrinsic utility, rank among the most volatile digital assets. Despite the inherent risks, some traders reap millions by navigating this high-risk market segment successfully.

Two weeks ago, a shrewd Pepe trader transformed $3,000 into $46 million by trading the memecoin. The resurgence of the GameStop saga bolstered Pepe's price, allowing the trader to generate an astonishing 15,718-fold return on their initial investment.
Magazine: Trader Turns $3K into $46M in PEPE, Ethereum Gas Overhaul, Tornado Dev Guilty: Hodler’s Digest, May 12-18