Moonwell investigates lending market issue on Base as security firms flag multimillion-dollar exploit

Decentralized lending protocol Moonwell is investigating an issue affecting the MAMO Core Market on Base after security firms CertiK and PeckShield flagged a multimillion-dollar exploit."As a precaution, borrow caps for all Core Markets on Base have been set to 1 wei, preventing new borrowing and limiting the potential for further impact," Moonwell posted on X. "The supply caps for MAMO and WELL have also been set to 1 wei. All other supply caps remain unchanged."Blockchain security firm PeckShield estimated the exploit drained approximately $8.7 million, with the attacker aggregating the stolen funds in the DAI stablecoin at a single address.Fellow security firm CertiK also put the losses at $8.7 million, saying that the attacker manipulated the relatively illiquid MAMO token's collateral price, then borrowed real cbBTC from the mCBTC market to carry out the exploit. Blockaid separately identified the same apparent attack mechanism.Moonwell's WELL token is down around 13% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. MAMO has fallen roughly 9% over the same period, per DEX Screener.The exploit continues one of the worst periods for DeFi exploits, seemingly driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, with multiple protocols hacked for more than $600 million since April, led by the $292 million exploit of Kelp DAO.Moonwell said it will share further updates as soon as more information is available. Moonwell did not respond to a request for comment from The Block.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.