Market maker hacked and dumped 10 million USD! RVV Token fell 75%, Astra Nova repurchased to stop the bleeding.

The AI encryption project Astra Nova's market maker account was compromised, leading to the dumping event of its native RVV Token. The attacker sold off 10.2 million USD worth of RVV Token, causing the token price to fall to 0.007 USD, with a drop of up to 75% before rebounding. Astra Nova's buyback plan was released, aiming to repurchase tokens from the open market equivalent to the affected quantity, and offering a 10% bounty.

Market maker account hacked 8.6% supply遭dumping

(Source: CoinMarketCap)

Astra Nova encountered a major security incident on October 18, where the accounts of external market makers were hijacked, becoming the direct cause of the RVV Token dumping. According to the team's statement, the attackers exchanged approximately 8.6% of the total supply for about 10.2 million USD worth of USDT. An 8.6% supply ratio in a single dumping is extremely rare, and such a scale of concentrated selling is disastrous for any cryptocurrency.

Market makers play a crucial role in the cryptocurrency market, responsible for providing liquidity, stabilizing price fluctuations, and absorbing large orders. Project teams usually entrust a certain amount of Tokens to market makers, who then provide two-way quotes on the exchange. When a market maker's account is hacked, the attacker gains control of a large amount of Tokens and can dump them onto the market in a short period, causing a price crash.

The attack occurred on October 18, the day the Token was launched. This timing suggests that the attacker may have been lurking for a long time, waiting for the best moment to strike with liquidity. During the early stages of a new coin's launch, the trading volume is usually the highest, allowing for the absorption of larger-scale dumping without completely losing liquidity. The $10.2 million dumping was executed over several hours, with the attacker using multiple exchanges and DEX to avoid triggering abnormal trading alerts on a single platform.

The market impact of the RVV Token dumping is extremely severe. According to CoinMarketCap data, the token's price plummeted from around $0.028 to a low of nearly $0.007, a decline of up to 75%. This single-day drop is second only to projects that have completely collapsed in the history of cryptocurrencies. For investors who bought at the peak, the losses are heavy. Many may have purchased in the range of $0.025 to $0.028, with their assets shrinking by three-quarters in just a few hours.

However, the market subsequently experienced a Rebound. RVV rebounded from a low of $0.007 to around $0.014, recovering approximately 100%. This V-shaped reversal indicates that some investors believe the dumping is a temporary external event rather than a fundamental issue with the project, and thus choose to buy on the dip during the panic. The team quickly issued a security incident warning and confirmed that the core contract was unaffected, which also stabilized some market confidence.

Astra Nova Buyback Program and 10% Bounty

The team has confirmed the incident and stated on X that the core contract is unaffected. Astra Nova emphasizes that this RVV Token dumping only involves third-party market-making accounts, and the smart contracts, staking systems, and other core infrastructure of the protocol are all secure. This clarification is crucial in preventing a larger scale of panic, as an invasion of the core contract could pose a fatal blow to the entire project.

On-chain evidence collection is underway. The team is collaborating with blockchain analysis firms to track the flow of stolen funds. After the attackers exchanged RVV for USDT, the funds may have flowed to mixers (such as Tornado Cash) or been distributed across multiple wallets to hide their trail. The team stated that they will contact law enforcement after gathering evidence, which is the standard procedure after a cryptocurrency project experiences theft.

The Astra Nova buyback plan is a core measure to respond to the crisis. The team commits to repurchasing a quantity of tokens equivalent to those affected on the open market, which means repurchasing about 8.6% of the total supply. Based on the current price, to repurchase the equivalent of 10.2 million USD in RVV, large-scale buying in the market will be necessary. This buyback will have a dual effect: first, direct buying support for the price, and second, reducing the circulating supply to enhance scarcity.

Astra Nova stated on Twitter: “In light of recent events, Astra Nova will repurchase a quantity of Tokens equivalent to those affected in the market. This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting Token holders, stabilizing liquidity, and enhancing long-term confidence in the RVV ecosystem. Please stay tuned for official updates on the execution plan for the repurchase.”

10% bounty provision is another key strategy. The team announced that if the funds are returned, they will offer a 10% reward, which is approximately 1.02 million USD. This type of White Hat Bounty is not uncommon in the encryption industry and aims to incentivize attackers or those who discover vulnerabilities to proactively return the funds in exchange for a portion of the reward. There have been successful historical cases, such as after Poly Network was hacked for 600 million USD, the attackers ultimately returned most of the funds and received a bounty. However, there are also failure cases where many attackers chose to keep all the funds instead of accepting the bounty.

The timing of the attack after 48.3 million financing raises questions

This incident comes at a difficult time for Astra Nova. The company recently completed a funding round of approximately $48.3 million (AUD 74.2 million), led by Outlier Ventures, with family offices and institutions from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain also participating in the follow-on investment. The timing of encountering theft immediately after completing a large funding round has raised market doubts.

Some observers believe that the attackers may have already gained access to the market maker's account, waiting for the project to complete its financing and for the token to go live before making their move, to ensure there is enough liquidity for the dumping. There are also voices questioning whether this is truly an external attack, or if it is an internal issue with the market maker or even a deliberate act. Astra Nova calls it “third-party managed account theft,” but specific details—such as how it was stolen, whether security measures were in place, and whether the market maker is liable—have not yet been fully disclosed.

In a subsequent response from X Space, a representative stated that the project has severed ties with the affected market makers, and the roadmap remains unchanged. This decision to sever ties indicates that the team believes the market makers have made significant errors in security management, but it may also lead to legal disputes. If the market makers believe the responsibility does not lie with them, they may seek legal avenues to protect their rights.

Astra Nova describes its platform as an AI-native entertainment ecosystem, featuring low-code and no-code tools for tokenizing utilities and mini-programs. This technology positioning in the AI + encryption space is attractive, but the current theft incidents have severely damaged the project's reputation. Investors will question: how can a project that cannot even protect market maker accounts safeguard user assets?

According to a previous report by Foresight News, Astra Nova stated on Twitter that its third-party custodial account was hacked, and the attackers took control of the account and liquidated the assets. The team is taking measures and will involve law enforcement once evidence collection is complete to ensure the safety of the smart contracts and infrastructure. The team's quick response and transparent communication have somewhat restored trust, but the subsequent execution of the buyback and the investigation results will determine whether the project can truly recover.

For RVV Token holders, the most critical factor currently is to observe the actual execution of the Astra Nova buyback. If the team truly conducts a large-scale buyback in the market, the price may further rebound. If the buyback only remains at the commitment stage, or if the execution scale is far smaller than claimed, market confidence will be undermined again.