DAO Maker
Summary
DAO Maker is a crypto fundraising and launchpad platform founded in 2018 by Christoph Zaknun and Giorgio Marciano, known for its Strong Holder Offering (SHO) and Dynamic Coin Offering (DYCO) mechanisms. The platform suffered two confirmed exploits in August and September 2021 totaling approximately $11 million in losses, affecting over 5,200 users. A promised multi-phase compensation plan was subsequently undermined by an alleged governance vote manipulation, leaving a significant portion of hack victims unreimbursed as of 2024.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(10 events)
2021-08-12
DAO Maker SHO contract exploited via compromised admin private key; 7,376,245 USDC drained from 5,251 user wallets. Attacker converts funds to ~2,261 ETH. PeckShield first reports publicly.
CoinDesk2021-08-19
DAO Maker airdrops initial USDC compensation to affected users, covering approximately 30–50% of losses.
Quadriga Initiative Case Study2021-09-04
DAO Maker vesting contract exploited via unauthenticated init() function; attacker drains ~$4 million from four token contracts (DERC, CPD, CAPS, SHO tokens) using emergencyExit().
SlowMist Medium2021-09-08
DAO Maker airdrops USDR IOU tokens to hack victims representing remaining unpaid compensation, redeemable for DAO tokens at 110% face value by September 8, 2022.
Quadriga Initiative Case Study2022-02-17
CertiK completes most recent security audit of DAO Maker contracts, assigning a score of 85.84; identifies one major centralization/privilege concern.
CertiK Skynet2022-09-08
USDR token redemption deadline passes; ~3,500 addresses still hold approximately $3.5 million in unredeemed USDR tokens.
Rekt News2022-10-03
Governance proposal surfaces on DAO Maker Discord proposing suspension of USDR redemptions, framed as 'Prevent Major $DAO DUMP.' Proposal attributed to user @Dante.eth.
Rekt News2022-10-16
Governance vote closes; option to redeem USDR at 50% of par value passes with 61.72% of voting tokens, allegedly concentrated in six wallet addresses. Proposal subsequently deleted from Snapshot.
CoinTelegraph2024-01-01
CoinTelegraph reports that hack victims still have not received remaining reimbursement three years after the exploit; USDR tokens rendered non-redeemable for monetary value.
CoinTelegraphDecision Log
- hash: FjPjFHAPCw7LeS7TVPv2THkJs6ZP7YHpA5Qxtnrw6cpr
- hash: 8nsg1JCBBrRWtSpVetZHCpN5NVyJNktVG1psnxU8XXDS
- hash: 23yX13DfZ2VvJi8QtP8wMR85kam1EaAuHpGfcxym4iJU
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/31/2026, 6:59:08 AM
last updated: 6/13/2026, 8:53:46 PM
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