Audius
Last changed 2026-10-27 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 58 → 68. Problems weighed by who is responsible: incidents the subject suffered −6.4, problems around the subject, caused by others −0.8; legitimacy credit long-running +10; 3 section(s) set aside until a failed fact-check is resolved; fact-check adjustments (+26) now shown as page reliability, not in the score. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| Incidents it suffered (e.g. hacks) | -6.4 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -0.8 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 68 |
- 3 sections set aside: the claims did not hold up in a fact-check, pending correction.
Score: 68/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Audius is a decentralized music streaming protocol and its native AUDIO token, launched in 2020 on Ethereum and subsequently migrated to Solana. On July 23, 2022, an attacker exploited a critical re-initialization vulnerability in Audius governance smart contracts, draining 18.56 million AUDIO tokens (valued at approximately $6 million at the time) from the community treasury before swapping them for approximately $1.08 million in ETH via Uniswap and routing funds through Tornado Cash. The platform has continued to operate since the exploit, deploying patched contracts and expanding user and artist partnerships, but the AUDIO token has declined approximately 99.6% from its all-time high and the exploit raised serious questions about audit quality.
Connected Entities
4 entities · 60 linked investigations- Audius→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
- Audius→mentioned with→Uniswap(70%)
- Audius→mentioned with→Solana(65%)
- Uniswap→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
- Solana→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
Timeline(11 events)
2018
Audius founded by Roneil Rumburg, Forrest Browning, and Ranidu Lankage; raises $5.5M Series A from General Catalyst.
August 2019
Audius testnet launched; independent node operators begin supporting the network.
September 2020
Audius mainnet launches alongside the AUDIO token; platform reports over 500,000 monthly active users.
October 2020
Governance, staking, and delegation smart contracts deployed on Ethereum mainnet; audited by OpenZeppelin.
17 August 2021
Audius announces partnership with TikTok as its first music streaming integration; AUDIO token surges over 90%.
October 2021
Kudelski Security audits Audius smart contracts; re-initialization vulnerability goes undetected.
23 July 2022
Governance exploit: attacker exploits storage collision bug, passes malicious governance proposal, drains 18,564,497 AUDIO (~$6M) from community treasury. Proceeds (~$1.08M ETH) swapped on Uniswap and laundered via Tornado Cash. Audius team deploys fix within 87 minutes.
8 August 2022
U.S. Treasury OFAC sanctions Tornado Cash, the mixer used by the Audius attacker to launder stolen proceeds.
2022
Audius acquires virtual concert platform SoundStage.fm; platform tops 7.5 million monthly users.
23 August 2023
Tornado Cash co-founders charged by U.S. DOJ with money laundering and sanctions violations.
May 2026
AUDIO trading at approximately $0.019, approximately 99.6% below all-time high. Audius warns users of phishing airdrop campaign impersonating the platform.
Decision Log
- slot 461965710 · hash F7KPb9dPDzjQ61TeEyo6wDU2NzWyfaXLq9YqvtqG5exE
- slot 457480280 · hash 9wdnbbzBzqMfv5XxTnWmd5qkAbTnWr6o4RxojeMPvt25
- slot 426514352 · hash 68FGkBHqLaAiBuETGBZhKTtbuDtKMHkSfNCg4kcETaA7
- slot 426514348 · hash AZWxucwhsd74AuKviL3NMtRxjsmRekDuyY3mVcUkD877
- slot 422765142 · hash Aj422cok6T2vZLak4doDHHPQFDqkkbZUZJEaERC3qnCm
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (5 decisions). 17 of 20 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:48 AM
last updated: 10/27/2026, 6:05:43 AM
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