Solana Targets Durable Nonces After $270M Drift Hack as Pump.fun Backlash Grows

Solana developers are preparing to remove durable nonces, the transaction feature exploited in April’s $270 million Drift Protocol hack. The proposed change marks a major shift in how the network handles offline approvals, with implications for exchanges and institutional custodians.

The proposal, known as SIMD-0723, would retire a mechanism that allows signed transactions to remain valid indefinitely. Attackers reportedly exploited this functionality to execute pre-approved transactions more than a week after obtaining signatures from Drift’s security council.

The move comes as Solana faces another challenge closer to its retail ecosystem. Pump.fun is facing growing community criticism over platform fees, influencer promotions, and allegations of hidden-wallet trading. Together, the developments put renewed attention on security, transparency and trust across Solana’s ecosystem.

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Solana Moves to Remove the Nonces Feature Behind Drift’s $270M Exploit

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Normal Solana transactions use recent blockhashes that expire after 30 seconds. Durable nonces replace those temporary references with stored values, allowing transactions to remain executable until the nonce advances.

The feature was designed for legitimate operational needs. Exchanges, custodians, and multisig organizations often require offline signing procedures that take longer than Solana’s normal transaction window.

However, attackers turned that convenience into an attack vector against Drift on April 1, 2026. They reportedly secured administrative approvals through air-gapped signing systems before allowing the transactions to sit for more than a week.

Once submitted, the approvals helped attackers take control of the protocol and drain at least $270 million. Drift subsequently attributed the attack to a North Korean-linked group.

Anza contributor Gabe Rodriguez filed SIMD-0723 on November 5. The proposal would require transactions to use recent blockhashes after activation. May 5, 2027, represents the earliest proposed mainnet activation date. The change still requires technical approval and migration planning.

Solana is also exploring replacement programs that could support offline signing without relying on durable nonces. These alternatives would introduce different authorization and transaction-failure considerations for custodians.

The proposal forces institutional users to reconsider how they authorize transactions across Solana. Meanwhile, questions about trust are becoming harder to ignore elsewhere in the ecosystem.

Pump.fun Faces Community Backlash

Pump.fun has attracted fresh criticism following several developments involving its business model and influencer ecosystem.

On November 6, blockchain tracker Lookonchain reported that Pump.fun transferred 76,111 SOL, worth approximately $6.85 million, to Kraken. The movement reignited criticism over platform fees and whether its incentives adequately serve ordinary traders.

Bubblemaps also accused prominent influencers of using undisclosed wallets to purchase tokens before publicly recommending them. Its investigations estimated $125,000 in combined trading profits and promotional rewards involving influencer Ethan.

Separate allegations involving paid streamer collaborations surfaced on November 7. The revelations have intensified questions about transparency within Pump.fun’s promotional ecosystem.

These controversies involve different problems from Drift’s exploit, but they expose a similar challenge: maintaining confidence among participants.

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What’s The Alternative?

That challenge also creates an interesting opportunity for Bitcoin-focused projects exploring alternative execution environments.

Bitcoin Hyper is developing a Bitcoin Layer 2 using Solana Virtual Machine technology. Its architecture aims to combine SVM’s high-speed execution with Bitcoin-based settlement, bringing smart contracts, decentralized exchanges, and staking functionality to BTC.

Bitcoin Hyper is not simply another Solana application. Its design uses SVM execution while anchoring Layer 2 state to Bitcoin through periodic commitments and zero-knowledge proofs.

This combination gives it a different proposition from Solana-native applications. Developers can work with an execution environment associated with Solana’s performance, while the project targets Bitcoin’s established settlement infrastructure.

Bitcoin Hyper has also reached several development milestones. Its testnet is live, with a public explorer allowing users to inspect transactions and network activity.

The project’s presale has raised approximately $33.2 million, with HYPER priced at a low $0.0136 per coin. Its November 26 presale deadline leaves 17 days from today for prospective participants to enter before the planned launch window.

The upcoming transition toward mainnet, wallet infrastructure, and exchange listings puts the project in an important stage of development. Its combination of Bitcoin settlement and SVM execution gives it a distinct position in the expanding Bitcoin Layer 2 sector.

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