DAO on Solana loses $230K after ‘attack proposal’ goes unnoticed

An attacker proposed and voted in favor of a proposal to send treasury funds to their own wallet. DAO members didn’t realize until it was too late

article-image

VAKS-Stock Agency/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The legwork behind DeFi hacks can be quite sophisticated. But an attacker targeting Synthetify last week only had to vote on — and pass — their own proposal to steal some $230,000 worth of crypto.

Synthetify was exploited by an attacker who made and voted for public proposals in the protocol’s decentralized autonomous organization. By the time other DAO members noticed something was amiss, the funds had already been sent to Tornado Cash. 

The situation represents a fresh example of a governance failure resulting in lost funds.

Synthetify is a Solana-native DEX that fell into debt following FTX’s meltdown late last year. In April, the project announced that it has plans to restructure.

Taking advantage of the DAO’s inactivity, the exploiter created ten identical-looking proposals and used their own tokens to reach the voting quorum. Nine of the proposals were empty, but the tenth contained code that sent around $230,000 in USDC, mSOL and stSOL to the attacker’s address, according to an X thread from the security auditing firm Neodyme. 

$89,669 remains in the DAO’s treasury, according to available data. 

The attacker’s exploit — conducted through the token vote-centric governance process, highlights the potential pitfalls facing DAOs that seek to ward off bad actors. 

In the past, attackers have exploited DAO treasuries with so-called flash loans, borrowing large amounts of governance tokens to pass malicious proposals.

Serhii Kravchenko, chief operating officer of the DAO infrastructure provider DeXe DAO Studio, said DAOs should build better notification systems for the proposal process and should invest more heavily in financial incentives that reward DAO members for their participation. 

Read more: DeFi security firm Quantstamp pilots hack protection program

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko wrote on X that DAOs should have veto councils that can prevent attacks caused by token voting.

“Any DAO with pure token voting is just waiting to be attacked,” he wrote.

Asked whether a veto council would have prevented Synthetify from being exploited — given that the attacking proposal went unnoticed until it had already passed through the governance process — Yakovenko echoed Kravchenko.

“Pay the council to pay attention!” Yakovenko wrote.

Updated Oct. 24, 2023 at 4:08 pm: Clarified for additional context.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

Swiss regulator Gespa is assessing whether FIFA’s tokenized ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup violate gambling laws

by Blockworks /
article-image

The deal gives Ondo Finance SEC-registered broker-dealer, ATS, and transfer agent licenses to operate regulated tokenized securities markets

by Blockworks /
article-image

Ethereum and Solana funds mark industry first as Grayscale adds staking to spot crypto products

by Blockworks /
article-image

US bitcoin ETFs that seen more than $2.2 billion of net inflows over the last four trading days

by Blockworks /
article-image

More than 75 million U.S. Galaxy owners gain integrated Coinbase One access through Samsung Wallet, with global rollout planned

by Blockworks /
article-image

The central bank signed agreements with firms for fraud, payments, and app services ahead of a potential launch

by Blockworks /