Solana's Step Finance Shuts Down After $40M Security Breach
Step Finance, a Solana-based portfolio management platform, announced its shutdown on February 24, 2026, following a January 31, 2026, security breach that drained $40 million from its treasury and fee wallets, as reported by The Block. The exploit, detailed in a postmortem by Step Finance, involved unauthorized access to hot wallets, leading to the loss of user funds and operational assets, CoinDesk. This incident, amid a wave of Solana hacks totaling $1.2 billion in 2025, prompted the team to wind down operations after failing to secure financing or an acquisition.
Technical Fallout and Ecosystem Impact
The breach compromised Step Finance‘s core infrastructure, affecting its dashboard aggregating LP tokens, yield farms, and positions across 95% of Solana protocols, per. Subsidiaries like SolanaFloor (media outlet) and Remora Markets (tokenized equities) are also ceasing operations, with SolanaFloor maintaining a data archive. X posts from @solana_status highlight the exploit’s use of a vulnerable dependency in Solana‘s runtime, similar to past attacks on Mango Markets, per. Solana‘s $108 billion market cap held steady at $184.50, but the event underscores DeFi vulnerabilities, DefiLlama.
STEP Token Crash and Buyback Plans
The STEP token plunged 40% in 24 hours to $0.0005, with a market cap of $186,000, down from its 2021 peak of $10.2, according to CoinGecko. Step Finance is preparing a buyback for STEP holders based on a pre-exploit snapshot. At the same time, Remora develops a USDC redemption process for rTokens, backed 1:1. This mirrors recovery efforts in Solana hacks like the $100M Wormhole breach, Chainalysis. Investors should monitor Solana support at $170 and resistance at $200 TradingView, as further DeFi incidents could pressure SOL.
Risks and Advice for Solana Investors
The shutdown highlights Solana‘s DeFi risks, with $8.6B TVL vulnerable to exploits, per. Amid ETF delays, SOL could dip to $150 short-term but rebound to $250 by year-end if security improves, Techopedia. Investors: audit wallets via Solana Explorer, use hardware like Ledger, and diversify into USDC or ETH ($4,070). Follow @SolanaSensei on X for updates. Step Finance‘s failure warns of DeFi fragility, but Solana‘s staking surge offers long-term promise.
