Meerkat Finance (2021) — Crypto Hack
LaunderedMeerkat Finance drained $31M from its own vaults one day after launch, with the deployer modifying vault contracts to authorize withdrawals.
Summary
Meerkat Finance drained $31M from its own vaults one day after launch, with the deployer modifying vault contracts to authorize withdrawals.
How It Was Compromised — DeFi via Rug Pull / Insider Exploit
Just one day after launch, Meerkat Finance's deployer used the vault owner upgrade functionality to modify the vault contracts, giving themselves permission to drain all deposited funds. The deployer claimed this was a test to expose BSC's copy-paste culture, but kept the $31M. Whether this was a premeditated rug pull or an exploitation by a third party remains disputed.
Fund Flow & Laundering Analysis
Stolen BUSD and BNB moved through multiple BSC wallets and converted via PancakeSwap. Portions bridged to Ethereum and mixed via Tornado Cash. The deployer left a message saying they were exposing BSC's fork-and-copy culture. Funds were never returned, and the project disappeared. No legal action taken.