Sandbox SAND token breach: Billions minted on Base

The Sandbox's SAND token on Base was exploited, letting attackers mint 14.9 billion tokens. Exchanges suspended SAND transactions, raising concerns over token integrity and supply.

The Sandbox's SAND token on the Base network suffered a major security breach, allowing attackers to exploit a vulnerability and mint billions of tokens—far exceeding the intended supply. Initial reports indicated over 500 million SAND were minted, but on-chain analysis later revealed that approximately 14.9 billion SAND were created across two addresses. This figure is nearly five times the official total supply of 3 billion tokens. The exploit stemmed from unauthorized minting permissions, where an address gained control over the Base SAND contract and bypassed supply restrictions. Importantly, this incident is isolated to the Base deployment and does not affect the SAND token on Ethereum mainnet. In response, South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb suspended SAND deposits and withdrawals and issued warnings. The Sandbox has not yet released an official statement, and the full impact and destination of the minted tokens remain unclear. The breach has raised serious concerns about token integrity, supply dilution, and the security of metaverse projects.