{"investigation":{"slug":"thetanuts-finance","entity_name":"Thetanuts Finance","trust_score":62,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":14,"confidence":0.72,"status":"draft","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Thetanuts Finance is a multi-chain DeFi options protocol launched in August 2021, offering structured products (options vaults) across Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Polygon, and other networks. The protocol has raised $35 million across two funding rounds and has undergone seven smart-contract audits, but suffered a $2.1 million exploit in June 2026 targeting a deprecated legacy vault, with approximately $2 million subsequently recovered through whitehat efforts. TVL has declined substantially from a 2022 peak of roughly $50 million to under $1 million as of mid-2026.","sections":[{"content":"Thetanuts Finance launched in August 2021 as a decentralized options vault (DOV) protocol focused on selling out-of-the-money European cash-settled options to accredited market makers, generating yield for depositors through option premiums. The v3 upgrade, announced in December 2023 and launched on mainnet in Q1 2024, restructured the protocol into a full on-chain options exchange that allows both long and short positions via an integrated AMM and lending/borrowing market. As of mid-2026, the protocol reports deployment across nine networks including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Cronos, and Filecoin. The founding team is described in official materials as composed of programmers, hedge fund managers, and financial analysts; no individual founders have been named publicly in press releases or official documentation reviewed for this investigation.","heading":"Protocol Overview","sources":[{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/thetanuts-finance-v3-the-latest-approach-to-decentralized-options","name":"Thetanuts Finance v3 Overview - CoinGecko","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thetanutsfinance.medium.com/thetanuts-finance-announcing-the-v3-upgrade-42875cb7a13b","name":"Thetanuts Finance v3 Upgrade Announcement - Medium","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://docs.thetanuts.finance/legacy-v3/overview","name":"Thetanuts Finance Protocol Documentation","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"Thetanuts Finance has raised a total of $35 million across two rounds. A seed round of $18 million closed on March 1, 2022, with Three Arrows Capital, Deribit, QCP Capital, and Jump Crypto as lead investors, alongside Mirana Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Tribe Capital, Raptor Group, Goldentree, Borderless Capital, and others. Three Arrows Capital subsequently filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, though no public reporting has established that this directly harmed Thetanuts Finance's operations. A second round of $17 million closed on April 24, 2023, led by Polychain Capital, Hyperchain Capital, and Magnus Capital, with returning participation from Deribit, QCP Capital, Jump Crypto, and others. Total disclosed funding stands at $35 million.","heading":"Funding and Investors","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","name":"Thetanuts Finance Raises $18M Seed - GlobeNewswire","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/24/defi-protocol-thetanuts-finance-raises-17m-for-expansion-new-partnerships","name":"Thetanuts Finance Raises $17M Series A - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://finbold.com/thetanuts-finance-secures-17-million-institutional-funding-round-as-expansion-looms/","name":"Thetanuts Finance Secures $17M Institutional Round - Finbold","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"On June 15, 2026, an attacker exploited a flaw in a legacy Ethereum vault contract that Thetanuts Finance had deprecated years prior. The vulnerability was an integer division error in the contract's mint and claim logic: the flawed redemption formula allowed an attacker to mint option tokens for free or withdraw more funds than entitled, enabling a flash-loan-amplified drain. Approximately $2.1 million was removed from the contract. Security researchers and whitehat responders subsequently recovered approximately $2 million in option tokens; the attacker retained roughly $105,000 converted to ETH and approximately $34,000 in USDC-denominated option tokens. Thetanuts Finance stated that the affected contract was a deprecated vault unrelated to any active products or current smart contracts, and committed to publishing a post-mortem. No evidence in available reporting indicates the exploit affected live protocol funds or active user positions. Attribution: Thetanuts Finance was the victim of this exploit; the protocol did not commit the act. The incident arose from an unmitigated flaw in a legacy contract that had not been disabled, rather than from insider conduct or protocol fraud.","heading":"Security Incident: June 2026 Exploit of Deprecated Vault","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hack-deprecated-thetanuts-vault/","name":"Hackers hit deprecated Thetanuts vault for $2.1M - Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/15/2-1m-exploit-hits-thetanuts-inside-the-latest-defi-flash-loan/","name":"$2.1M Exploit Hits Thetanuts: Inside the Latest DeFi Flash Loan - CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/aztec-connect-thetanuts-zk-rollup-exploit-4-3m","name":"Thetanuts Finance: $2.1M Attack, Partial White-Hat Recovery - The Defiant","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/thetanuts-deprecated-vault-exploit-defi/","name":"Deprecated Thetanuts Vault Exploited for $2.1 Million - BeInCrypto","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Thetanuts Finance has completed seven smart contract security audits from five distinct firms. X41 D-Sec audited the Basic Vaults in December 2021. Akira Tech conducted two audits in February and March 2022 covering Basic Vaults, Stronghold, and Degen Vaults. Zokyo audited Basic Vaults, Stronghold, Degen Vaults, Wheel Vaults, and the NUTS token in March 2022. PeckShield audited the same component set in May 2022. Consensys Diligence audited the NUTS token in November 2023, and Halborn audited the v3 protocol in November 2023. The June 2026 exploit affected a legacy contract predating these later audits; it is not publicly confirmed whether the deprecated contract in question had been within scope of any of the seven audits. Audit reports are referenced in the protocol's public documentation.","heading":"Audit History","sources":[{"url":"https://docs.thetanuts.finance/contracts-and-security/security","name":"Security Documentation - Thetanuts Finance Docs","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://x41-dsec.de/defi/smartcontract/smart/contract/ethereum/eth/thetanuts/solidity/security/report/2021/12/14/thetanuts.finance-smart-contract-audit/","name":"X41 D-Sec Thetanuts Finance Public Security Review - December 2021","type":"research","credibility":1}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"Thetanuts Finance reached a peak TVL of approximately $50 million in May 2022, coinciding with the broader options vault sector peak. Following the May-June 2022 crypto market downturn and the collapse of Three Arrows Capital (a seed investor), TVL declined sharply. The protocol reported being ranked the number one DeFi options protocol by TVL on DefiLlama as of May 2024, at approximately $31 million, suggesting partial recovery after the v3 launch. As of mid-2026, publicly available DefiLlama data indicates TVL has fallen to approximately $923,000, representing a decline of approximately 97% from the 2022 peak and approximately 97% from the reported May 2024 figure. The NUTS governance token launched via airdrop in May 2024, with 3% of a 10 billion maximum supply distributed to the community in Season 1. The token was distributed through an IDO on Bybit Web3 among other venues.","heading":"TVL Trajectory and Market Position","sources":[{"url":"https://defillama.com/protocol/thetanuts-finance","name":"Thetanuts Finance TVL Stats - DefiLlama","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thetanutsfinance.medium.com/thetanuts-finance-nuts-reveal-5fc455405ae2","name":"Thetanuts Finance NUTS Reveal - Medium","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thetanutsfinance.medium.com/thetanuts-finance-announcing-the-v3-upgrade-42875cb7a13b","name":"Thetanuts Finance v3 Upgrade Announcement - Medium","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The founding team of Thetanuts Finance has not been publicly identified by name in official press releases, funding announcements, or documentation reviewed for this investigation. Official materials describe the team in aggregate as programmers, hedge fund managers, and financial analysts. The sole named individual appearing in early press materials was a media contact identified as 'Usagi.' This level of pseudonymity is not uncommon in DeFi but limits independent verification of team credentials and accountability. No specific red flags regarding team conduct have been identified in available sources.","heading":"Team Transparency","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","name":"Thetanuts Finance Raises $18M Seed - GlobeNewswire","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"No enforcement actions, investigations, or regulatory findings by the SEC, CFTC, or any other regulatory body against Thetanuts Finance have been identified in available sources as of the date of this investigation. The protocol's terms of service restrict access for users in certain jurisdictions. The NUTS token was launched with allocation structures consistent with other DeFi governance tokens; no securities regulatory action regarding the token has been identified.","heading":"Regulatory Standing","sources":[{"url":"https://docs.thetanuts.finance/other-information/terms-of-service","name":"Thetanuts Finance Terms of Service","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-08","event":"Thetanuts Finance launches as a DeFi options vault protocol.","source":"GlobeNewswire / official materials","source_url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","date_original":"2021-08-01"},{"date":"2021-12-14","event":"X41 D-Sec completes the first public smart contract security audit of Basic Vaults.","source":"X41 D-Sec audit report","source_url":"https://x41-dsec.de/defi/smartcontract/smart/contract/ethereum/eth/thetanuts/solidity/security/report/2021/12/14/thetanuts.finance-smart-contract-audit/"},{"date":"2022-03","event":"Thetanuts Finance raises $18 million seed round led by Three Arrows Capital, Deribit, QCP Capital, and Jump Crypto.","source":"GlobeNewswire","source_url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","date_original":"2022-03-01"},{"date":"2022-05","event":"TVL peaks at approximately $50 million. PeckShield completes audit of Basic Vaults, Stronghold, Degen Vaults, Wheel Vaults, and NUTS Token.","source":"Thetanuts Finance Medium / DefiLlama","source_url":"https://defillama.com/protocol/thetanuts-finance","date_original":"2022-05-01"},{"date":"2022-07","event":"Three Arrows Capital (seed lead investor) files for bankruptcy following the Terra/LUNA collapse and broader market contagion.","source":"CNBC","source_url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/11/how-the-fall-of-three-arrows-or-3ac-dragged-down-crypto-investors.html","date_original":"2022-07-01"},{"date":"2023-04-24","event":"Thetanuts Finance raises $17 million Series A led by Polychain Capital, Hyperchain Capital, and Magnus Capital.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/24/defi-protocol-thetanuts-finance-raises-17m-for-expansion-new-partnerships"},{"date":"2023-11","event":"Consensys Diligence and Halborn complete audits of the NUTS token and Thetanuts Finance v3 protocol respectively.","source":"Thetanuts Finance security documentation","source_url":"https://docs.thetanuts.finance/contracts-and-security/security","date_original":"2023-11-01"},{"date":"2023-12","event":"Thetanuts Finance announces v3 upgrade and launches v3 Incentivized Alpha on Arbitrum.","source":"Thetanuts Finance Medium","source_url":"https://thetanutsfinance.medium.com/thetanuts-finance-announcing-the-v3-upgrade-42875cb7a13b","date_original":"2023-12-01"},{"date":"2024-05","event":"NUTS governance token launches via Season 1 airdrop and Bybit Web3 IDO. Protocol reports peak v3-era TVL of approximately $31 million, ranking first among DeFi options protocols on DefiLlama.","source":"Thetanuts Finance Medium / Bitget News","source_url":"https://thetanutsfinance.medium.com/thetanuts-finance-nuts-reveal-5fc455405ae2","date_original":"2024-05-01"},{"date":"2026-06-15","event":"Attacker exploits a deprecated legacy Ethereum vault via flash loan, draining $2.1 million. Whitehat responders recover approximately $2 million; attacker retains roughly $105,000. Thetanuts Finance confirms active products were not affected.","source":"Cryptopolitan / CryptoTimes / The Defiant","source_url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hack-deprecated-thetanuts-vault/"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","name":"Thetanuts Finance Raises $18M Seed - GlobeNewswire","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260819042049/https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/01/2394305/0/en/Thetanuts-Finance-Raises-US-18M-to-Democratize-DeFi-Structured-Products.html","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-19T04:20:49+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/01/defi-platform-thetanuts-finance-raises-18m-seed-funding-to-fuel-growth","name":"DeFi Platform Thetanuts Finance Raises $18M Seed Funding - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":1,"archive_error":"error:unauthorized","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/24/defi-protocol-thetanuts-finance-raises-17m-for-expansion-new-partnerships","name":"DeFi Protocol Thetanuts Finance Raises $17M - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":1,"archive_error":"error:unauthorized","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://finbold.com/thetanuts-finance-secures-17-million-institutional-funding-round-as-expansion-looms/","name":"Thetanuts Finance Secures $17M - Finbold","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260819014725/https://finbold.com/thetanuts-finance-secures-17-million-institutional-funding-round-as-expansion-looms/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-19T01:47:25+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hack-deprecated-thetanuts-vault/","name":"Hackers hit deprecated Thetanuts vault for $2.1M - Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260623025443/https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hack-deprecated-thetanuts-vault/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-23T02:54:43+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/15/2-1m-exploit-hits-thetanuts-inside-the-latest-defi-flash-loan/","name":"$2.1M Exploit Hits Thetanuts: Inside the Latest DeFi Flash Loan - CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260724165841/https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/15/2-1m-exploit-hits-thetanuts-inside-the-latest-defi-flash-loan/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-24T16:58:41+00:00"},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/aztec-connect-thetanuts-zk-rollup-exploit-4-3m","name":"Thetanuts Finance: $2.1M Attack, Partial White-Hat Recovery - The Defiant","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260622153950/https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/aztec-connect-thetanuts-zk-rollup-exploit-4-3m","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-22T15:39:50+00:00"},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/thetanuts-deprecated-vault-exploit-defi/","name":"Deprecated Thetanuts Vault Exploited for $2.1 Million - BeInCrypto","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://cryip.co/thetanuts-finance-hit-by-2-1m-exploit-as-legacy-ethereum-vault-flaw-resurfaces/","name":"Thetanuts Finance Hit by $2.1M Exploit - 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