Solana decentralized exchange Stabble urged users to immediately withdraw liquidity after learning its former chief technology officer was allegedly a North Korean hacker. The protocol’s total value locked plummeted 62%, dropping from $1.75 million to under $663,000. This follows a massive $285 million exploit on Solana’s Drift Protocol last week, which has also been linked to North Korean hackers.
The Solana decentralized exchange Stabble has urged users to pull their liquidity from the platform, causing its total value locked (TVL) to drop 62% on Tuesday. Data from DeFiLlama shows the TVL fell from $1.75 million to less than $663,000.
The warning came after an alleged North Korean hacker, identified as Keisuke Watanabe, was reportedly the firm’s CTO last year. “EMERGENCY!” the new protocol team posted on X, advising users to temporarily withdraw funds for safety.
“We received a message and are acting on it, our primary focus is the safety of our LPs,” the new Stabble team stated. The warning was issued despite no disclosed exploit on the platform itself.
This event follows a sophisticated $285 million exploit of the leading Solana DeFi protocol Drift last week, also linked to North Korean hackers. The attackers allegedly used fabricated identities and in-person meetings before deploying malicious tools.
North Korea has a long-standing connection to major crypto exploits, including a record $1.4 billion hack of exchange Bybit last year. On Monday, the Solana Foundation announced new security efforts for ecosystem protocols with a TVL of at least $10 million.
