Do Son 
In the spring of 2023, the crypto market witnessed a tale steeped in exploitation, blackmail, and an unexpected twist. It began with a vulnerability in the smart contract of a product by SafeMoon—a company already teetering on the brink of collapse. A hacker discovered a flaw that allowed him to manipulate the valuation of SafeMoon tokens, orchestrating one of the boldest heists of the year.
The attacker initiated a transaction that burned a massive quantity of SafeMoon tokens, triggering an artificial price surge. He then swiftly sold the remaining tokens back into the SafeMoon liquidity pool—the smart contract designed to facilitate trading. Exploiting the price spike and the pool’s mechanics, he extracted a significant windfall in moments.
The financial impact was devastating—SafeMoon lost approximately $8.5 million in a single day. The attack occurred in late March 2023 and might have ended there, if not for an unexpected second act.
Almost simultaneously, a second player emerged—a bot operator employing a front-running technique. He intercepted transactions and diverted the stolen funds into his own wallet. Yet his motives were far from altruistic. After the breach, this individual declared he was willing to return the funds, but only if allowed to retain 20% of the stolen assets.
Paradoxically, SafeMoon, faced with limited options, acquiesced to the demand. Thus, the second hacker assumed the unlikely role of an “ethical” actor, keeping a portion while pledging to return the rest. Neither he nor the original attacker, however, was ever identified.
Nonetheless, the FBI managed to intervene. From accounts on the crypto exchange OKX, they seized $680,467.92 and 480.996 BNB—roughly half of the bot operator’s “reward” for his supposed restitution. Although SafeMoon is now officially bankrupt, the recovered assets were handed over to the court-appointed trustee overseeing its liquidation.
This incident vividly illustrates how vulnerabilities in smart contracts can serve not only as avenues for theft but also as battlegrounds for conflict among cybercriminals themselves. In the end, SafeMoon was left penniless and dismantled—its once-hyped crypto legacy reduced to digital footprints scattered across anonymous wallets.
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