{"investigation":{"slug":"hope-finance","entity_name":"Hope Finance","trust_score":4,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.88,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Hope Finance was an Arbitrum-based DeFi protocol that launched in January 2023, positioning itself around an algorithmic stablecoin pegged to 0.001 ETH. On February 20, 2023 — the same day the platform went live — approximately $2 million (1,095 ETH) was drained from its Genesis Rewards Pool in what blockchain security firms CertiK and PeckShield assessed as an insider-orchestrated exit scam, making it the largest exit scam recorded on Arbitrum at that time. Stolen funds were bridged to Ethereum and routed through Tornado Cash; the protocol's website subsequently went offline and the team became unreachable.","sections":[{"content":"Hope Finance described itself as 'home to the first algorithmic token pegged to 0.001 ETH on the Arbitrum network.' The project's Twitter account was created in January 2023 and promoted the HOPE token as the backbone of a DeFi ecosystem intended to bring liquidity and new use cases to Arbitrum. The project is distinct from a separate, unrelated 'HOPE' stablecoin ecosystem announced by former Babel Finance CEO Flex Yang in March 2023. Hope Finance's smart contract was audited by Cognitos prior to launch, though the deployed contract ultimately differed from the version reviewed in the audit.","heading":"Overview","sources":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://hopefinance.gitbook.io/hope-finance/","name":"hopefinance.gitbook.io","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","name":"certik.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On February 20, 2023, shortly after the protocol launched, an attacker drained approximately $2 million from the Hope Finance Genesis Rewards Pool. The exploit proceeded in multiple steps: first, an externally owned account (0x4481a3539be6c2dedf7a71b77e93bf44b64a9113) deployed an unverified, malicious router contract; second, three of four multisig owners approved an update to the SwapHelper contract pointing to the fraudulent router — strongly indicating insider participation; third, function 0x3c6455ac was manipulated to redirect 477 WETH and approximately 1,061,759 USDC to the attacker's address. The funds were subsequently bridged from Arbitrum to Ethereum via CelrBridge (Celer Network), converted to approximately 1,095 ETH (valued at roughly $1.86 million), and deposited into Tornado Cash across three addresses. Blockchain security firm CertiK assessed the incident as an exit scam driven by centralization vulnerabilities, noting the multisig wallet appeared to operate under unified or minimal control, negating its intended security benefits. PeckShield independently confirmed the fund transfers through coin-mixing protocols. The project's website became unreachable after the incident, Discord invites were invalidated, and the team could not be contacted.","heading":"Exit Scam / Exploit","sources":[{"url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","name":"certik.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","name":"cryptopotato.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","name":"coincu.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Hope Finance's team publicly identified the alleged attacker on Twitter as Ugwoke Pascal Chukwuebuka, described as a Nigerian national, and shared a photograph of the individual holding a voter identification card. The team's post included explicit language expressing anger at the identified individual. However, community members questioned the identification: some noted the address associated with the doxxed individual appeared to correspond to a vacant lot, and others raised concerns that the identification document could be fabricated or belong to an uninvolved party. The contact person between Cognitos (the auditor) and Hope Finance reportedly deactivated their account following the incident, raising further questions about the reliability of the team's claims. No law enforcement body has publicly confirmed the identity of the perpetrator as of the available reporting.","heading":"Alleged Perpetrator Identity","sources":[{"url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","name":"coincu.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","name":"cryptopotato.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://blockchainreporter.net/defi-protocol-hope-finance-loses-2m-in-hack-as-scammer-claims-ownership-of-entire-genesis-protocol/","name":"blockchainreporter.net","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Hope Finance's smart contract was reviewed by Cognitos prior to launch. Cognitos stated the contract that was exploited was 'different from the one it audited for Hope Finance,' and that multiple post-audit changes had been made by the team, each reportedly rechecked by a Cognitos engineer. The firm flagged two primary weaknesses during its review: susceptibility to reentrancy attacks and the presence of an incorrect modifier. Despite these findings, Cognitos concluded the contract had 'passed the audit successfully.' CertiK's post-mortem analysis found that centralization vulnerabilities were the root cause, specifically the mishandling of the project's multisig wallet, which appeared to be controlled by a single entity rather than genuinely distributed signers. The divergence between the audited contract and the deployed contract — and the subsequent deletion of the Cognitos contact's account — are cited by analysts as evidence of premeditated fraud.","heading":"Audit and Smart Contract Vulnerabilities","sources":[{"url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","name":"certik.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","name":"coincu.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","name":"cryptopotato.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Post-incident on-chain analysis by CertiK and PeckShield traced the movement of stolen assets. The attacker transferred 477 WETH and approximately 1,061,759 USDC from Hope Finance contracts on Arbitrum to a controlled address. These funds were bridged to Ethereum via CelrBridge and subsequently swapped, yielding approximately 1,095 ETH valued at around $1.86 million at the time. The ETH was then deposited into Tornado Cash across three separate addresses in an attempt to obfuscate the transaction trail. Tornado Cash is a sanctioned Ethereum mixing service that the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated in August 2022. The use of Tornado Cash following the exploit is consistent with deliberate fund concealment.","heading":"Fund Flow and On-Chain Tracing","sources":[{"url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","name":"certik.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","name":"coincu.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://crypto.news/scammer-steals-2m-user-funds-from-hope-finance/","name":"crypto.news","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Following the February 20, 2023 incident, Hope Finance's website became unreachable. Discord invites associated with the project were rendered invalid, and the team was unresponsive to media inquiries. The project has not published a post-mortem report as of available reporting. No recovery of stolen funds has been publicly confirmed. The protocol is considered defunct. Users who had staked liquidity were advised via on-chain messaging to withdraw what remained, though the bulk of assets had already been drained.","heading":"Current Status","sources":[{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","name":"cryptopotato.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023","event":"Hope Finance Twitter account created; project announced plans for an algorithmic stablecoin (HOPE token) pegged to 0.001 ETH on Arbitrum.","source":"CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","date_original":"2023-01-01"},{"date":"2023-02","event":"Cognitos completes smart contract audit of Hope Finance, flagging reentrancy risks and an incorrect modifier but marking the contract as having passed the audit.","source":"CoinCu News","source_url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","date_original":"2023-02-01"},{"date":"2023-02-20","event":"Hope Finance launches on Arbitrum. On the same day, the Genesis Rewards Pool is drained of approximately $2 million (1,095 ETH) via a fake router contract approved by the project's own multisig signers.","source":"CryptoPotato","source_url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/"},{"date":"2023-02-20","event":"Stolen funds bridged from Arbitrum to Ethereum via CelrBridge and deposited into Tornado Cash across three wallet addresses.","source":"CertiK","source_url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance"},{"date":"2023-02-20","event":"Hope Finance team posts on Twitter, identifying alleged attacker as Ugwoke Pascal Chukwuebuka and sharing a photograph of the individual with a voter ID card.","source":"CoinCu News","source_url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/"},{"date":"2023-02-21","event":"CertiK and PeckShield publish on-chain analyses confirming the exit scam and tracing fund flows to Tornado Cash. CertiK characterizes the incident as driven by centralization vulnerabilities and multisig mishandling.","source":"CertiK","source_url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance"},{"date":"2023-02-21","event":"Cognitos contact person at Hope Finance reportedly deactivates their account. Hope Finance website goes offline; Discord becomes inaccessible.","source":"CryptoSlate","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","name":"CoinTelegraph: Hope Finance exploit results in $2M stolen from users' funds","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20250827164801/https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2025-08-27T16:48:01+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","name":"CertiK: Hope Finance","type":"research","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20250907053345/https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/hope-finance","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2025-09-07T05:33:45+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","name":"CryptoPotato: Largest Exit Scam on Arbitrum — Hope Finance Drained for $2M","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260414173905/https://cryptopotato.com/largest-exit-scam-on-arbitrum-hope-finance-drained-for-2m/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-04-14T17:39:05+00:00"},{"url":"https://coincu.com/168666-hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","name":"CoinCu News: Hope Finance Appears Rug Pull, Scammers Transferred $1.86 Million ETH To Tornado Cash","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260724210024/https://coincu.com/hope-finance-appears-rug-pull/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-24T21:00:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","name":"CryptoSlate: DeFi protocol Hope Finance hacked for $2M at launch","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20250905221424/https://cryptoslate.com/defi-protocol-hope-finance-hacked-for-2m-at-launch/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2025-09-05T22:14:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://crypto.news/scammer-steals-2m-user-funds-from-hope-finance/","name":"Crypto.news: Scammer steals $2m user funds from Hope Finance","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20251010060127/https://crypto.news/scammer-steals-2m-user-funds-from-hope-finance/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2025-10-10T06:01:27+00:00"},{"url":"https://blockchainreporter.net/defi-protocol-hope-finance-loses-2m-in-hack-as-scammer-claims-ownership-of-entire-genesis-protocol/","name":"BlockchainReporter: DeFi Protocol Hope Finance Loses $2M In Hack","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260725033913/https://blockchainreporter.net/defi-protocol-hope-finance-loses-2m-in-hack-as-scammer-claims-ownership-of-entire-genesis-protocol/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-25T03:39:13+00:00"},{"url":"https://defi-planet.com/2023/02/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2-million-loss-of-user-funds/","name":"DeFi Planet: Hope Finance Exploit Results in $2 Million Loss of User Funds","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260725123444/https://defi-planet.com/2023/02/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2-million-loss-of-user-funds/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-25T12:34:44+00:00"},{"url":"https://hopefinance.gitbook.io/hope-finance/","name":"Hope Finance GitBook Documentation","type":"official","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260726032118/https://hopefinance.gitbook.io/hope-finance","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-26T03:21:18+00:00"}],"source_tags":["defillama"],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-sonnet-4-6","created_at":"2026-05-04T02:54:44.309175+00:00","updated_at":"2026-08-29T01:33:11.694+00:00"}}