MegaETH's pre-deposit campaign, designed to bootstrap liquidity for its upcoming mainnet launch, dramatically veered off course, transforming what was intended as a smooth process into a spectacle of technical failures, rapid cap changes, and a critical operational error. This highly anticipated event, which managed to lock in approximately $500 million, ultimately exposed significant sloppiness and sparked a heated debate within the crypto community regarding project management and transparency.
A Rapid and Chaotic Launch
The campaign kicked off with immense user enthusiasm, particularly among KYC'd Sonar wallet holders eager to secure early access and airdrop multipliers for bridging USDC from Ethereum. However, the initial $250 million cap quickly proved inadequate. Within minutes, third-party APIs succumbed to overwhelming demand, causing the site to crash. Upon reopening, the entire cap was filled in a mere 156 seconds, largely by whales and bots, leaving many retail users frustrated and unable to participate.
The Catastrophic Multisig Error
In an attempt to address the unmet demand and "give users access," the MegaETH team announced plans to raise the cap to $1 billion. This decision initially sparked outrage among early depositors, who feared significant dilution. While the team clarified multiplier protections, a far more critical blunder occurred during the preparation of the $1 billion transaction. Reportedly, the Gnosis Safe multisig was accidentally configured to require 4/4 signatures instead of the intended 3/4 pending, making the transaction executable by any user. A vigilant user spotted this vulnerability and executed the $1 billion cap increase 34 minutes ahead of schedule, leading to an uncontrolled explosion of deposits.
The Aftermath and Divided Community Response
Panicked, the team engaged in frantic damage control, attempting multiple cap adjustments, eventually settling on $500 million as the final locked amount. While no exploits of funds occurred and contracts had passed audits, the multisig slip-up highlighted alarming operational incompetence. The incident ignited a firestorm on X, with community sentiment sharply divided. Bulls pointed to the "insane demand" as a sign of strength, celebrating the half-billion dollars locked in a bear market. Conversely, bears lambasted the campaign as a "clown show," demanded refunds, and fueled accusations of a potential "rug pull," casting a significant shadow over MegaETH's mainnet launch, despite the scheduled December release.
