The Step Finance shutdown marks one of the most heartbreaking failures in Solana’s history. The announcement by the parent company, along with their media divisions (SolanaFloor) and derivatives protocol (Remora Markets), says they are ceasing all operations immediately due to a catastrophic security failure at the end of January.
How an Exploited Device Led to Three Projects Collapsing
This latest Step Finance shutdown can be traced back directly to January 31, when hackers were able to exploit devices belonging to the executive team, draining approximately USD 40 million from its treasury. The company was able to recover USD 4.7 million through Token22’s asset protection and quick coordination with partners; however, the impact was still devastating.
Remora relied on Step as its largest liquidity provider, and even though Remora’s rTokens remained fully backed 1:1, neither organization had enough independent support outside the other to withstand the sudden demise of both companies. Despite attempts by the team to find funding and an acquisition to protect the mainstream project, they were unable to secure any realistic path forward. Hence, Remora Markets and SolanaFloor also suffered the same fate as their parent company.
A Voice From The Media Has Been Silenced, Leaving A Community In Mourning
The closing of SolanaFloor is a huge loss to the Solana ecosystem. What started as a small X account turned into one of the largest, most influential media channels covering Solana, documenting and showcasing the explosive growth within the ecosystem. Its archives will remain online but no additional content will be produced. The STEP token hodlers will be able to redeem their STEP tokens at a value determined based upon a snapshot before the exploit; however, the team advises against engaging with the token until further notice. Remora users are waiting for guidance regarding the redemption of their rTokens for USDC.
The Step Finance shutdown, along with its partners, sadly, got on the list of more Web3 projects ending operations this year for different reasons, like Polymath and ZeroLend claiming “onchain illiquidity”, or NFT platform Parsec, changing its business strategy.
Step Finance (STEP) Token Overview
The STEP token has dropped around 37% in the last 24 hours following the news of the shutdown. Trading at USD 0.0006025 at the time of writing. Market cap is now at USD 133,430, down over 36%. The show is over.
