Avantis Airdrop Exploited: $4 Million Lost to Coordinated Sybil Attack
Evidence from the blockchain has revealed that Avantis’ recent airdrop was exploited, with a single entity making off with approximately $4 million in AVNT tokens. This coordinated attack has raised concerns about the security and fairness of airdrop campaigns.
Summary of the Incident
According to a report by blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps, over 300 wallets were used to exploit the Avantis airdrop, with the entity behind the attack managing to claim a significant amount of AVNT tokens. The exploit occurred just before the token’s exchange debut on Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitunix, which saw the token’s value surge to a new all-time high of $1.57.
The data from Bubblemaps indicates that the wallets used in the attack were financed by Coinbase and received USD Coin (USDC) from a narrow group of sources. The assets were then exchanged on the Avantis platform, and the AVNT airdrop was claimed. The tokens were later consolidated into fewer addresses and transferred to centralized exchanges (CEXs) such as Bitbit and Gate in a coordinated manner.
Exchange Debut and Airdrop Fuel Avantis Rally
The revelations of the Sybil attack came just days after AVNT, the native token of Avantis, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on the Base network, listed on Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitunix on September 9. The token’s exchange debut was followed by a triple listing on Binance, Uplit, and Bithumb on September 15, which saw the token’s value enter a parabolic rally.
The exchange activity increased the effects of Avantis’ Airdrop 1, which was launched on September 9 alongside its initial listings. The campaign distributed 12.5% of the total AVNT supply to over 65,000 eligible wallets, based on on-chain activity. The airdrop was intended to reward real community participants fairly, but the coordinated Sybil attack undermined this intention.
For more information on the Avantis airdrop exploit, visit https://crypto.news/on-chain-evidence-reveals-4m-sybil-attack-on-avantis-airdrop/
