The cryptocurrency market’s wild ride in late May 2024 offered a painful lesson for newcomers. While Bitcoin traded near $69,394 and Ethereum surged past $3,892 following historic ETF approvals, two smaller tokens — NORMIE and Based Doge (BOGE) — lost 99% of their value in hours due to smart contract vulnerabilities. If you are new to crypto, understanding what happened to these tokens is essential for protecting your investments.
The Basics
A smart contract is a self-executing program that runs on a blockchain. Think of it as a vending machine: you put in money, select an item, and the machine automatically delivers it. No cashier needed. In crypto, smart contracts power everything from token transfers to decentralized exchanges to lending protocols.
Every token on a blockchain like Ethereum or Base is governed by a smart contract. This contract defines how many tokens exist, who can create new ones, and how transfers work. The critical point is that once a smart contract is deployed, its rules are immutable — they cannot be changed without migrating to an entirely new contract.
This immutability is both a strength and a weakness. It guarantees that the rules are enforced consistently, but it also means that bugs or vulnerabilities in the code are permanently baked in. If a smart contract has a security flaw, anyone can exploit it, and there is often no way to undo the damage.
Why It Matters
The NORMIE and BOGE exploits demonstrate exactly why smart contract security matters to every crypto user. Both tokens had a flaw in a function called get_premarket_user, which was supposed to grant special privileges only to early investors and the project creators. Instead, the function allowed anyone who matched the creator’s token balance to gain those same privileges — including the ability to create new tokens out of thin air.
An attacker exploited this by trading tokens until their balance matched the creator’s wallet. Once the balances were equal, the smart contract treated the attacker as a privileged user. The attacker then created hundreds of thousands of new tokens and immediately sold them, flooding the market and crashing the price by 99%. NORMIE lost $41.7 million in market value. BOGE lost $2.8 million.
For the people holding these tokens, the losses were devastating and largely irreversible. Unlike a bank account, there is no customer service number to call, no fraud department to reverse the transaction. Blockchain transactions are final.
Getting Started Guide
Protecting yourself from smart contract exploits starts with a few practical steps. First, always check whether a token’s smart contract has been verified on a block explorer like Etherscan or BaseScan. A verified contract has its source code published and publicly auditable. If the code is hidden, you have no way of knowing what the contract actually does.
Second, look for evidence of professional security audits. Reputable projects publish reports from firms like Trail of Bits, Consensys Diligence, or OpenZeppelin. These audits are not guarantees of safety, but they indicate that the project has invested in security review.
Third, use free tools like TokenSniffer or Honeypot Detector before buying any token. These tools scan smart contracts for common red flags, including hidden mint functions that allow unlimited token creation, functions that can freeze your ability to sell, and unusual ownership privileges that let developers modify the contract after deployment.
Fourth, understand the concentration risk of memecoins and low-cap tokens. These are inherently higher risk than established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, and consider limiting speculative positions to a small percentage of your overall portfolio.
Common Pitfalls
New investors frequently fall into several traps when evaluating tokens. The most dangerous is assuming that because a token is listed on a major exchange or has a large market cap, it must be safe. Market capitalization can be easily manipulated in low-liquidity markets, and exchange listings do not imply security vetting.
Another common mistake is following social media hype without conducting independent research. Many exploited tokens had enthusiastic communities on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) right up until the moment of the exploit. Social media engagement is not a substitute for technical due diligence.
FOMO — fear of missing out — drives many poor investment decisions in crypto. When a token is surging, the temptation to buy in quickly can override careful evaluation. The NORMIE and BOGE tokens both had significant price increases before their exploits, attracting buyers who did not investigate the underlying contract security.
Next Steps
If you want to deepen your understanding of smart contract security, start by learning to read basic Solidity code — the programming language used for Ethereum smart contracts. Even a surface-level understanding will help you identify obvious red flags like unrestricted mint functions or missing access controls.
Follow reputable security researchers and firms on social media. Trail of Bits, Consensys Diligence, and OpenZeppelin regularly publish educational content about common vulnerabilities. Rekt News provides detailed analyses of major exploits, offering practical lessons from real-world incidents.
Finally, consider using hardware wallets for storing significant crypto holdings. While hardware wallets cannot protect you from smart contract exploits, they provide robust protection against wallet-level attacks like phishing and key theft. Security in crypto is a layered practice — no single measure provides complete protection, but combining multiple strategies significantly reduces your risk exposure.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always conduct your own research before engaging with any cryptocurrency project.
lost 2 ETH on NORMIE that week. the worst part was the dev went silent for 12 hours while everyone was panicking. never again
rough man, sorry to hear. the premarket_user backdoor was buried so deep even etherscan didnt flag it. zero chance a beginner catches that
the premarket_user backdoor in NORMIE was added after the initial audit. re-auditing after every update is expensive but this is exactly why its necessary
Rui C. the premarket_user backdoor got added post-audit right? re-auditing after every contract change should be mandatory on base. nfts lost life savings that week
2 ETH on NORMIE, i lost 5 on BOGE the same week. base was a bloodbath for anyone not sticking to audited contracts
audit_first losing on NORMIE and BOGE same week. Base launch was the wild west, zero infrastructure for contract verification at that point
lost 1.2 ETH on BOGE because i trusted the audit badge on etherscan. learned the hard way that audits are snapshots not guarantees
Padma R. the audit badge on etherscan gives false confidence to beginners who think it means safe. it means someone checked the code once, not that it stays safe forever
the vending machine analogy is good but the real lesson is: if the contract was upgraded after audit, the audit badge means nothing. post-deploy changes are the kill zone
99% in hours and people still ape into unaudited contracts on Base. the casino never closes i guess
Base was brand new at that point, everyone was chasing the next big meme coin. hindsight is 20/20
the vending machine analogy breaks down when the vending machine has a hidden self destruct button added after inspection
honestly for beginners, if you cant read the contract on etherscan, dont ape. that one rule would save so many people
noob_safety is right. if you cant read the contract at minimum check for mint functions and admin keys. takes 2 minutes on etherscan
the premarket_user backdoor in NORMIE was added after the initial audit. if you are not re-auditing after contract upgrades you are playing russian roulette
base_burned_ exactly. the audit covered the original contract but the dev snuck in the backdoor function later. post-audit changes are where most rug pulls happen
99% in hours and people were still aping into unaudited base tokens the next day. the casino mindset never changes lol
the vending machine analogy in this article is good for beginners but the real lesson is: if the contract has admin functions that can change token behavior, run
the vending machine analogy in the article is good but the real lesson is the backdoor got added AFTER the audit. re-auditing costs 5 ETH and nobody does it on a meme coin
byte_shy_ 5 ETH for a re-audit on a meme coin that might rug tomorrow. the economics of security audits dont work for low cap tokens
NORMIE lost 99 percent because the token contract had a hidden fee mechanism that could be triggered by anyone with enough gas. classic honeypot disguised as a meme coin
reentrancy_scanner the hidden fee mechanism is exactly why you check the transfer function before buying anything. 5 minutes of reading saves your life savings
reentrancy_scanner hidden fee functions are the oldest trick in the honeypot playbook. if you cant read the transfer logic you shouldnt be aping meme coins
NORMIE lost 99 percent because of a hidden fee function and people still aped the next meme coin 24 hours later. the casino never learns
BOGE and NORMIE both had backdoors added after the audit. the etherscan badge gives false confidence to beginners who think permanent safe