Операционная неразбериха MegaETH: как неправильные действия команды привели к неожиданному увеличению фондов до $500 млн Translation: Operational Chaos at MegaETH: How Team Missteps Led to an Unexpected Fund Increase to $500 Million

On November 25, the launch of the pre-deposit campaign for the L2 project MegaETH faced technical issues. Instead of the targeted $250 million, the project inadvertently raised $500 million due to a loss of control over the smart contract management.

The problem was not a code exploit but rather human error and mismanagement of the multi-signature process.

The MegaETH team pledged to return the funds raised during the pre-deposit phase. Project representatives described the execution of the campaign as «careless.»

The current outcomes did not align with the primary goal of ensuring a 1:1 conversion guarantee for the USDm stablecoin at the mainnet launch.

To facilitate the asset refunds, a new smart contract will be required. The code is currently undergoing an audit, and fund distribution will commence immediately following the completion of security checks.

MegaETH noted that the contributions of early users «will not be forgotten,» but declined to disclose specifics about potential incentives due to regulatory communication requirements.

The team intends to reopen the bridge for converting USDC to USDm before the launch of the Frontier mainnet.

Initially, MegaETH planned to raise liquidity ahead of the mainnet launch in December. The terms appeared straightforward: a start time of 9:00 AM (ET), a cap of $250 million, a first-come, first-served principle, and KYC via the Sonar platform.

Issues arose right after the launch:

To rectify an error, the team took 23 minutes. They needed to gather signatures in a multi-sig wallet to update the parameters, during which thousands of users unsuccessfully attempted to transfer funds.

Once the bridge became operational, the $250 million limit was reached in just 156 seconds.

Due to the lack of an official announcement about the fix, bots and users who continuously refreshed the page seized the opportunity.

In response to a wave of criticism, the team decided to increase the limit to $1 billion and reopen fund acceptance at 11:00 AM. This required changing the contract parameters again through the Safe multi-sig wallet.

The wallet management scheme required four out of six possible signatures, and the developers had collected them in advance to execute the transaction exactly at 11:00. This turned out to be a major mistake.

In Safe wallets, once the necessary signatures are gathered, anyone can execute the transaction. This is a documented feature of the protocol that ensures decentralization.

A user under the pseudonym chud.eth spotted a fully signed transaction in the mempool and executed it independently 34 minutes before the team’s planned timing.

The unexpected opening of deposits prompted a new surge of funds. The team watched as the balance rapidly increased beyond their control:

The developers acknowledged their defeat and abandoned plans to raise the cap to $1 billion.

MegaETH labeled the incident as «unacceptable.» The developers emphasized that the smart contracts functioned flawlessly, with no vulnerabilities, and that user funds remained secure. The failure stemmed from human error and a lack of understanding of the documentation for the tools used.

Despite the setbacks, fewer than 5% of users opted for the withdrawal option offered. The launch of the MegaETH mainnet is still scheduled for December, with the token release expected in early 2026.

As a reminder, on October 30, following the token sale, MegaETH raised $1.39 billion, with oversubscription exceeding 27 times.