PolBase Cash
January 7, 2021
Unverified contracts with admin withdrawal functions. Classic move.
FORENSIC REPORT
TIME OF DEATH: January 7, 2021, approximately 3:47 UTC. The specimen—PolBase Cash, a three-token algorithmic stablecoin system operating on Ethereum mainnet—was pronounced dead on arrival after the contract deployer executed a methodical capital extraction spanning multiple staking contracts. The body showed no signs of external attack; this was an inside job, surgical in its precision.
CAUSE OF DEATH ANALYSIS: The pathologist's findings are unambiguous. The deployer created four separate staking contracts (USDT, USDC, DAI, and LP token variants) without blockchain verification—a critical oversight that rendered the code invisible to auditors and investors alike. More fatally, these contracts contained the setOperation() function, which granted administrative authority to withdraw funds without restriction. The deployer simply invoked this function, pointing it to address 0x5C0D86B9c5de0b2b88895a6Cb0441a0Cdd5d52eA, essentially handing themselves a master key. The stolen assets were then systematically dispersed to multiple external wallets. Liquidity was drained via transaction 0xbf17223dc8c0aba097a79ec1e63b40fee758dd62ece339384de20a15a51d62fc. The specimen experienced complete vascular collapse.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Warning signs were present but ignored—the unverified contract code should have triggered immediate suspicion. In 2021, the market was saturated with Tomb Finance knockoffs, each promising algorithmic stability through bond-share mechanisms. None of this was novel. The deployer offered no public audit, no multi-sig wallet controls, no time-locks on administrative functions. These are not oversights; they are design choices. Users deposited anyway.
VICTIM IMPACT: $353,807 in combined stablecoin deposits (USDT, USDC, DAI) and liquidity provider tokens were liquidated. The funds moved through a chain of wallets, some to exchanges, others into the void. Investors who believed in algorithmic stability received a lesson in trust minimization instead—though not the educational kind. The damage was distributed across multiple wallet holders, each watching their deposits evaporate into the mempool.
PATHOLOGIST'S NOTE: The specimen presents a textbook case of preventable death. PolBase Cash did not fail due to novel attack vectors, flash loans, or complex DeFi mechanics—it died because someone built a trap door into the patient and then walked through it. The irony is thick: a project designed to stabilize value instead became a tutorial in value extraction. The Tomb Finance template proved profitable for exactly one party. We've catalogued 847 similar deaths. The cause remains identical. The market remains unconcerned.
"PolBase Cash, an algorithmic stablecoin, succumbed to its own architecture—unverified smart contracts granted the deployer god-mode access to $353k in user deposits. Another day, another algorithmic stable coin corpse."
Data from De.Fi REKT Database