Solareum, the Telegram trading app for buying and selling Solana-based tokens, has announced its closure after acknowledging its involvement in an exploit that resulted in the loss of approximately $523,000 worth of SOL from user wallets last week.
The exploit, which impacted over 300 Solana users, prompted initial speculation that the popular Telegram trading bot BONKbot was responsible for leaking users’ private keys. However, the team behind BONK denied any security lapse and clarified that affected BONKbot users had previously exported their private keys for use in other applications.
In a tweet response on Friday, Solareum admitted the possibility of being exploited, leading to their decision to shut down the project. In a subsequent announcement on Telegram on Saturday, the Solareum team cited a combination of factors including insufficient funds, evolving market trends, and the recent security breach as reasons for their closure.
Despite efforts to secure additional funding and fortify security measures, the team expressed regret over the compromise of their systems and the inability to ensure user safety due to the lack of funds. They also stated intentions to contact authorities to freeze any stolen crypto assets sent to centralized exchanges but did not address compensating affected users.
The project’s Telegram channel has since been inundated with demands for answers and compensation from users affected by the exploit, with some threatening legal action if Solareum fails to provide satisfactory resolutions.
BONKbot, initially suspected by the community, denied involvement and shared data indicating Solareum’s correlation with the exploit. BONKbot’s analysis pointed to users importing private keys into Solareum as the likely cause, though the exact nature of the breach remains unclear.