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Apparently around 4 billion ONE were minted through the exploit, and the token dropped roughly 34% to a new low around $0.00057. What really caught my attention, though, is the claim that about 97% of the newly minted tokens were already sitting on exchanges or exchange-related wallets.

If that's accurate, this looks less like someone discovering an exploit and figuring out what to do afterward, and more like a planned operation. The attacker seemingly knew the vulnerability, knew how to mint the tokens, and had the liquidation route ready before pulling the trigger.

That's what makes a minting exploit particularly nasty for holders. It's not just someone stealing coins from a specific wallet or exchange. New supply gets created and everyone holding the token is effectively diluted at the same time.

It also raises a question I think a lot of people overlook when evaluating altcoins: who actually controls the ability to mint new tokens?

People often focus on whether a project has been audited, but an audit doesn't necessarily tell you how resilient the supply mechanism is. If minting depends on admin keys, multisigs, upgrade controls, or centralized governance, those can become critical points of failure.

The fact that BTC barely moved while ONE got destroyed is also interesting. The market seems to be treating this as a chain-specific failure rather than evidence of a broader crypto problem.

For anyone holding altcoins, this makes me wonder how many people actually know who has the power to create additional supply in the tokens they own.

Do you check the mint authority and governance structure before buying an altcoin, or do you mostly rely on audits and the project's reputation?

Harmony's ONE exploit is a good reminder that the headline number isn't always the most important part.