Secret Network Bridge Suffers $4.7 Million Exploit; Three Sonic Labs Board Members Resign

Secret Network’s cross-chain bridge was hit for $4.7 million following an exploit tied to a critical infinite mint smart contract vulnerability. Three high-profile board members of Sonic Labs, including DeFi pioneer Andre Cronje, have resigned amidst a broader governance restructuring. The native S token dropped another 5% on the news, continuing a steep decline that has wiped out roughly 97% of its value from its all-time high. The decentralized finance ecosystem faced a turbulent weekend as Secret Network’s cross-chain bridge fell victim to a $4.7 million exploit, while Layer 1 blockchain developer Sonic Labs experienced a major leadership shake-up. Security firms flagged the Secret Network incident after an attacker managed to manipulate the bridge infrastructure using an infinite mint bug, allowing the fraudulent creation and withdrawal of assets. The bridge team quickly paused operations to mitigate further damage, marking yet another severe vulnerability exposed in cross-chain messaging logic this year. Simultaneously, governance instability rocked Sonic Labs, the organization behind the Sonic blockchain, which evolved from the Fantom project. On June 20, three founding board members—Michael Kong, David Richardson, and Andre Cronje—resigned from their positions. The departures conclude an interim board-led arrangement that had been managing daily operations following the exit of former CEO Mitchell Demeter earlier this year. According to official statements, the departing members will retain their financial stakes in the project but are completely stepping away from ongoing business decision-making responsibilities. In response to the vacancies, Sonic Labs announced the immediate appointment of Matt Visser as Chief Executive Officer and Kosta Kourkoumelis as Chief Operating Officer. The restructuring aims to refresh executive oversight and transition the project toward heightened transparency and stricter risk frameworks following persistent community criticism regarding the network’s performance and token performance. Market reaction to the structural overhaul was swift and unforgiving. The network’s native S token slid an additional 5% to trade around $0.028, extending a long-term downward trend. The utility token has now plummeted roughly 97% from its early 2025 all-time high of $1.03, moving in tandem with a substantial contraction in the ecosystem’s total value locked. Despite stepping down from governance duties, Cronje clarified his ongoing active involvement within the ecosystem, stating that he intends to focus on Flying Tulip, a decentralized finance exchange currently under development on the Sonic network. The new leadership team has pledged to rebuild investor confidence through incremental technical progress and open disclosure channels. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind. Readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions.

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