Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"f9e34bb9-b30b-4865-90d3-eed09542cd1c","kind":"publish","page_slug":"mars-perps","published_at":"2026-05-29T17:14:39.088Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Mars Perps","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://docs.marsprotocol.io/perpetual-futures-perps","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://defillama.com/protocol/mars-perps","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://marsprotocol.io/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://defi-planet.com/2022/12/introducing-the-mars-protocol-an-open-source-protocol-on-cosmos/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://forum.neutron.org/t/proposal-26-make-neutron-the-home-of-mars-protocol/233","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.range.org/blog/tracking-the-mars-protocol-exploit","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://x.com/mars_protocol/status/2000283619361800307","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://x.com/Airdrops_one/status/2000655118598111417","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://coinmarketcal.com/en/event/perps-security-incident-309902","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.range.org/blog/tracking-the-mars-protocol-exploit","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://x.com/mars_protocol/status/2000514949974757686","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://coinmarketcal.com/en/event/remediation-portal-live-315451","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://x.com/neutron_org/status/2016529265165008994","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://forum.marsprotocol.io/t/mrc-164-update-on-exploit-response-and-action-plan/1579","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/coinmarketcal:380ab1cae094b:0-mars-protocol-mars-mrc-165-vote-21-24-february-2026/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://x.com/mars_protocol/status/2038919794108326247","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/mars-protocol-wind-flow-analysis-final-deleveraging-2603/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.rootdata.com/news/595304","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://blog.marsprotocol.io/blog/declassifying-mars-protocols-security-audits-from-halborn-and-oak-security","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.halborn.com/audits/mars-protocol","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.halborn.com/audits/mars-protocol/mars-protocol-core-contracts-updated-code-cosmwasm-smart-contract-security-assessment","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://docs.marsprotocol.io/mars-protocol/security-and-risks/audits","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://geeklay.com/the-mars-protocol-leaves-terra-2-0-in-favor-of-the-cosmos-ecosystem/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-lending-protocol-mars-to-launch-mainnet/amp","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://defi-planet.com/2022/12/introducing-the-mars-protocol-an-open-source-protocol-on-cosmos/","type":"other","url":""}]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Mars Perps was the perpetual futures product of Mars Protocol, deployed on the Neutron outpost of the Cosmos ecosystem. On December 14, 2025, the protocol suffered a mechanism design exploit that drained $973,079 USDC from lending depositors via skew-based same-block arbitrage. The exploit ultimately triggered a full protocol wind-down, which concluded in March 2026 with user funds returned and community channels closed.","timeline":[{"date":"2022-03-01","event":"Mars Protocol launches on the Terra blockchain with a lending and borrowing product; TVL peaks near $350 million.","source":""},{"date":"2022-05-01","event":"Terra/LUNA ecosystem collapses. Mars Protocol loses the majority of its TVL. Combined $1.2 billion TVL decline across Mars and Astroport.","source":""},{"date":"2022-12-01","event":"Mars Protocol announces migration from Terra to the Cosmos ecosystem as a sovereign application chain.","source":""},{"date":"2023-01-31","event":"Mars Hub launches as an independent Cosmos application chain; MARS tokens distributed via airdrop to eligible Terra Classic holders.","source":""},{"date":"2025-11-14","event":"Attacker begins pre-staging operation via Tornado Cash, making seven ETH deposits approximately one month before the exploit.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-14","event":"Mars Perps exploit executed on Neutron outpost. Attacker uses skew-based arbitrage to drain $973,079 USDC using $49,783 initial capital. Funds exit to Binance in five cross-chain hops. Mars Protocol disables all perps contracts.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-14","event":"Mars Protocol publicly flags attacker addresses and announces investigation. Neutron outpost on Osmosis confirmed unaffected.","source":""},{"date":"2026-01-28","event":"Mars Protocol and Neutron Foundation launch remediation claim portal for affected USDC lending depositors. Claiming window open through February 27, 2026.","source":""},{"date":"2026-02-21","event":"Governance vote on MRC-165 (protocol wind-down) opens. Vote runs from February 21 to February 24, 2026.","source":""},{"date":"2026-02-24","event":"MRC-165 passes. Structured wind-down execution commences. Liquidation LTVs begin declining approximately 3% per day.","source":""},{"date":"2026-03-21","event":"All liquidation LTVs set to 0. Remaining borrow positions liquidated. Final debt clearance and fund distribution executed.","source":""},{"date":"2026-03-23","event":"Mars Protocol Foundation ceases operations. Discord and Telegram channels closed. Protocol wind-down confirmed complete; all user funds returned to wallets.","source":""}]},"v":1}