Solana hack could lead to claims against developers and service providers warns RPC

A cyberattack on Solana, which resulted in the wallets of 8,000 customers being drained, could potentially lead to claims being made against its software developers and third-party service providers, according to international law firm RPC.

Dan Wyatt, partner at RPC, said: "If the hack resulted from defective coding, software or security failure, impacted customers could potentially pursue a claim against Solana’s developers or service providers.

"The recent Tulip Trading case has left the door open for claims in the UK courts against developers who failed to take reasonable care not to harm user interests, such as by introducing defects that could leave them vulnerable to losses. This reasoning would in principle also apply to service providers."

Chris Whitehouse, senior associate at RPC, said affected users may also choose to pursue a claim against the unknown hackers in the courts, using blockchain tracers to track their misappropriated assets.

If assets can be traced to a cryptocurrency exchange, it may be possible to freeze them. Another option would be to obtain disclosure orders against exchanges to which the misappropriated assets are traced, to try to identify the hackers.

Whitehouse commented: “Even if fault by the developers or service providers is ultimately established, users should still consider taking swift action now to recover their assets from the hackers in the first instance.”