Sweat Economy Exploit Drains 13.7B SWEAT From NEAR Wallets

HypeMeter

Steady attention without excessive speculation.

Blockchain security firm Blockaid flagged the Sweat Economy exploit in a public alert on X at approximately 15:53 UTC. According to Blockaid, the drain happened in a single ~30-second window starting at 13:36 UTC. Multiple foundation accounts were emptied to zero.

As of 18:00 UTC, Sweat Economy has not released a statement. The team has not paused contracts or announced any recovery plan. NEAR Foundation has also remained silent.

How the Sweat Economy Exploit Unfolded

Blockaid’s follow-up analysis identified the exploiter address as 3be304b…9ae018 on NEAR. The largest single transaction was DvrSMfY…8NoPn.

The attacker used a custom Rust-based drainer contract. Blockaid identified the crate name as “exploit-resolve.” In under 30 seconds, the contract executed rapid, coordinated transfers from several foundation-held wallets.

After extracting the tokens, the attacker routed funds through Ref Finance, the main DEX on NEAR. From there, proceeds moved toward the Wormhole/Portal Bridge for cross-chain movement. About $20,000 in SWEAT had already been swapped to NEAR and USDC at the time of Blockaid’s report.

Key Compromise, Not a Smart Contract Bug

This was not a reentrancy attack or oracle manipulation. The exploit targeted Sweat Foundation-controlled wallets directly, according to Blockaid. The attacker appears to have gained access to multiple foundation accounts, likely through private-key compromise or prior access.

In plain terms, someone with access to the foundation’s keys triggered automated transfers using a custom drainer. This is a classic key-compromise pattern. The core SWEAT protocol and user wallets do not appear to be affected.

The exact root cause remains unknown. It could involve compromised keys, social engineering, or insider access. No details have been confirmed by the Sweat Economy team.

Background on Sweat Economy and NEAR

Sweat Economy launched in 2022 as the blockchain evolution of the Sweatcoin app. Sweatcoin, founded in 2016, rewards users for physical steps. At its peak, the app claimed over 120 million users worldwide.

The project operates a dual-token system. In-app Sweatcoin rewards accumulate from walking. On-chain SWEAT tokens live on NEAR Protocol. The model aimed to bring mainstream fitness users into crypto.

Sweat Economy had no major prior security incidents. NEAR Protocol, however, has seen other exploits in 2026. Rhea Finance suffered an oracle manipulation attack earlier this year that became one of the largest DeFi hacks of 2026.

The fact that foundation wallets held 65% of the total supply raises questions about token distribution. Concentrated holdings in project-controlled wallets create a single point of failure, as this exploit demonstrates.

Scale of the Sweat Economy Exploit

The numbers are stark. According to Blockaid, the attacker extracted approximately 13.71 billion SWEAT tokens. That represents roughly 65% of the total supply.

Post-exploit, the exploiter address now controls about 17.71 billion SWEAT. At current prices, that stash is worth approximately $3.46 million. The relatively low dollar value reflects SWEAT’s price, which trades near $0.000195.

NullTx confirmed the same figures in a detailed on-chain summary. MEXC News also reported matching numbers. All available sources align on the scale and timing of the drain, with no discrepancies.

Market Reaction Stays Muted

Despite the severity of the supply drain, SWEAT’s price reaction has been surprisingly muted so far. The token traded at roughly $0.000194 to $0.000196 in the hours after the alert. That represents only a 1-2% intraday drop.

SWEAT had already been hovering near recent lows in late April. The 24-hour trading volume sat between $800,000 and $845,000, according to CoinMarketCap data. NEAR’s native token showed no material reaction tied to the incident.

If the attacker dumps the remaining SWEAT holdings, however, the price could crater. A 65% supply overhang in hostile hands creates enormous sell pressure. Traders should monitor the exploiter address for large movements.

Community Reacts With Alarm

On X, the dominant sentiment is shock and frustration. Security account @ZeroDayDevApp warned users to revoke any Sweat contract approvals immediately. Analyst @MoonCall called it “one of the biggest supply-level token events of the year.”

@sophiaHodlberg noted that the incident has not been confirmed by the SWEAT team. Some community members speculate about an insider job or exit liquidity scenario, though no evidence supports those claims.

Reddit and Telegram channels show similar alarm. Users are calling for the team to respond, with many asking whether the protocol itself remains safe for regular holders.

What Sweat Economy Holders Should Watch

The immediate concern is the team’s silence. Hours after a 65% supply drain, Sweat Economy has not acknowledged the Sweat Economy exploit publicly. Comparable incidents at other protocols typically trigger emergency communications within minutes.

Holders should watch for an official response from the team. Any contract pause, token migration plan, or law enforcement engagement would signal an active recovery effort. The absence of communication raises questions about the project’s operational status.

On-chain watchers should also track the exploiter address for further swap or bridge activity. If the attacker converts the remaining SWEAT to stablecoins, the token’s price could face severe downward pressure.

This is not financial advice. Always do your own research before making any decisions based on breaking security events.