Solflare, the Solana-based crypto wallet, has reinforced its internal security protocols, significantly restricting access to its infrastructure and codebase after recent high-profile hacks in the cryptocurrency sector. The company announced that it now requires multiple approvals for every code change and has paused all new development additions.
Stricter Internal Controls
On November 2, Solflare co-founder Vidor described the wallet’s response as entering “bunker mode,” with emphasis on caution over speed in development. All access to core infrastructure and code has been locked down, and a system of multiple approvals is now mandatory for any update.
After the month this industry just had, access to our infrastructure and code is shut down, every change needs multiple approvals, and nothing new gets in. It slows us down and I’m fine with that.
Vidor acknowledged that these measures will slow the company’s development but emphasized that enhanced security took precedence. He stated that users’ safety and asset protection are driving these steps.
Industry Attacks Prompt Emergency Measures
Solflare’s security overhaul comes in the aftermath of a series of attacks impacting several major players. On October 29, Binance confirmed an incident involving roughly $6.3 billion in crypto assets, believed to be accessed after a potential compromise of an engineer’s laptop. While Binance described the investigation as ongoing, initial findings indicated that attackers could have reached systems responsible for approving withdrawals.
Additionally, hardware wallet manufacturer Keystone reported unauthorized activity on its website, exposing buyer information though not affecting private keys or recovery phrases. Concerns over potential phishing attempts followed this disclosure.
In Brazil, the exchange Mercado Bitcoin suspended withdrawals due to detected unauthorized activity within its internal systems. Solflare said its current security restrictions apply directly to its own operational environments to ensure tighter control.
Validator Security Incident Blocks Staking Rewards
Solflare faced a direct challenge on October 27 when its third-party staking provider reported a security incident affecting keys linked to Solflare’s Solana validator. As a result, the validator stopped producing staking rewards while the incident was investigated.
Solflare assured users that all delegated SOL remained in individual stake accounts, protected by users’ private keys, and that no user funds were accessed. The wallet explained that holding validator keys does not enable the operator to withdraw SOL from customer staking accounts, as control remains exclusively with the account owners.
Blockchain analytics platform Unchained identified around 1.56 million SOL delegated to the affected validator as of October 28. This validator had stopped voting and reward distribution, impacting delegators’ expected earnings.
Further analysis from Bitquery traced unauthorized transfers involving keys from several Solana validators, including Solflare’s. The attacker reportedly moved about $135,000 in assets from five validators. Bitquery clarified that validator operators’ assets were separate from those delegated by users.
Solflare quickly established a new validator and began urging affected users to migrate their delegated SOL. Initially, the deadline for compensating missed staking rewards was November 1, but this has been extended to November 30.
The company has warned of potential scams exploiting the migration process, advising that all official steps will occur within the Solflare app, and that users will never receive unsolicited messages or links.
Users are instructed to update their Solflare app to begin the migration. Rewards are set to resume once the transferred SOL becomes active with the new validator, although the network’s epoch system may delay reward issuance for some transfers. Solflare committed to covering lost rewards from October 26 to November 1 for users completing the migration by November 30.
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