Key Insights
- Step Finance lost 261,854 SOL after being hacked on January 31, recovering merely $4.7 million from its stolen assets.
- The STEP token dropped by more than 90% to $0.00063 after the announcement of the shutdown and treasury losses.
- Step Finance has confirmed a STEP buyback and rToken redemptions to USDC based on a pre-hack snapshot.
Step Finance operations were suspended after their treasury wallets were hacked, resulting in a $30 million loss in January. They confirm that the service will continue operating until funds are acquired or options for acquisitions can no longer be found. Token holders are now waiting for both the buyback and redemption of the tokens.
On January 31, 261,854 SOL coins and various other assets were lost in the breach. Currently, they have recovered $4.7 million of that total. Due to this loss, Step Finance, SolanaFloor, and Remora Markets will close down immediately.
Treasury Hack Forced Closure
Step Finance was attacked on its treasury and fee wallets. In a statement from their team within X, they stated that only a small portion of funds was able to be recovered. Although Step sought to return funds as a result of the hack, there are still significant losses.
After Step Finance’s hack, the team explored financing and acquisition possibilities. However, no viable avenue resulted from these discussions. After extensive internal reviews and external discussions, the team notified its community of the closing of Step Finance and the other platforms associated with it.
On its post, Step Finance notified its members that it would be stopping its operations immediately. They acknowledged their community for their support and stated further details would follow regarding user settlements.
STEP Token Collapse and Buyback Plan
The news caused the market to move dramatically. The STEP token earned approximately $0.00063, representing a decline of more than 90%. As people became uncertain about the project, the liquidity of the distributed tokens declined.
In response to the concerns of the token holders, Step Finance announced a buy-back program, which will be based on a snapshot taken before the hack occurred. Token holders who hold tokens will receive compensation based on their balances before the hack.
rToken holders from the Remora Project will be able to redeem their tokens for USDC. The Remora Team has assured rToken holders that they will still be backed 1 to 1. Further information on how to redeem will be provided shortly.
The significant price drop reflects the strain throughout the entire DeFi ecosystem of the Solana blockchain. Other projects within Solana’s DeFi ecosystem have been experiencing lower usage as a result of the tightening of the broader market.
SolanaFloor and Remora Markets Wind Down
The SolanaFloor media division associated with Step Finance has closed down. The platform announced on X (formerly Twitter) via its account that it would cease publication of any further content; however, its archive will remain available on the website of SolanaFloor.
SolanaFloor has developed from a small X account into a popular media channel on Solana focused on delivering projects, events, and information related to Solana. After the recent issues with Step Finance, SolanaFloor was unable to find a sustainable way to continue operations.
Remora Markets, which had been serving as the remittance service provider for rTokens, will also cease operations at this time. The rToken holders will maintain their right to redeem rTokens for USDC. The Remora team also reaffirmed that Remora has enough funds to continue to back the tokens even though it will not be operating anymore.
The shutdown of SolanaFloor is aligned with multiple other projects in the Solana ecosystem that are under operational duress, including Zerolend and Parsec Finance. The reduced level of activity and liquidity will continue to create operational pressure within many decentralized finance projects.
Step Finance has begun its final phase of settlement and asset distribution. Announcement of settlement and distribution procedures and timelines is anticipated soon.
Final Thoughts
Step Finance has officially ceased operating after unsuccessful attempts to bounce back post-hack-in-January. They have started a STEP buy-back, and rToken USDC will be redeemed. Users can still access all archived records after the platform’s closure.
All token holders should expect a process to receive redress once the DeFi ecosystem of Solana has experienced additional market stress and the community adjusts to it.
