A new scam is causing havoc in the Solana ecosystem. Users are buying tokens that vanish within seconds. The culprit? A sneaky abuse of Solana's "Permanent Delegate" extension.
Slorg, a member of Jupiter's Core Working Group, flagged the issue. "Imagine you swap for a token and the wallet history confirms that you received it. But then you look inside and nothing shows up," he posted on X.
The scam exploits a feature in Solana's Token 2022 standard. PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, explained the technicalities to Cointelegraph. The extension grants unrestricted privileges over token accounts.
Solana's website describes the feature's intended uses. These include retrieving mistakenly transferred tokens and enabling automatic payments. However, they admit it's a "double-edged sword".
So why burn victims' tokens? Slorg offered two theories. "Sometimes scammers just want to see destruction and chaos," he said. It's a mix of prank and malice.
The second reason is more calculated. Burning tokens reduces float. "If someone can't sell, the price won't decrease," Slorg explained. Even small profits can add up for persistent scammers.
PeckShield suggested another motive. The scam could be an attempt to manipulate token supply. This affects the cryptocurrency's overall economics.
Beosin, another security provider, had a different take. They believe scammers might use this tactic to create a false impression of token scarcity. This could artificially inflate prices.
The crypto community is fighting back. Jupiter and RugCheck have created indicators for this extension. But Slorg stressed the need for caution. "Always have a routine that you don't deviate from," he advised.
As the Solana ecosystem evolves, so do the scams. Users must stay vigilant. The price of carelessness in crypto can be steep. It's a wild world out there, and even seasoned traders are getting caught out.