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{{Imported Case Study With About|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/brincfinancebrcsmartcontractrescuetokensdrain.php}}
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[[File:Brincfinance.jpg|thumb|Brinc Finance Logo/Graphics]]Brinc Finance introduced $BRC as a transparent, crypto-backed alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies and opaque stablecoins, using a bonding curve model that increases the token’s price with every purchase and ensures on-chain reserve backing with BTC, ETH, or DAI. However, on December 14, 2021, the platform suffered a major exploit when over $1 million in tokens were drained from its staking contract, using private keys know by its Head of Development, Daniel Choi. After the incident, Choi became unresponsive, retained legal counsel, and was named in a civil case by Brinc.fi, which remains unresolved as of March 2024. Despite pledging to compensate users and restore the platform, no viable recovery plan materialized, and Brinc.fi has since gone largely inactive, with its online presence disappearing and its promises unfulfilled.<ref name="brincfirekt-19558" /><ref name="brincfihomearchive-19559" /><ref name="ownertransferetherscan-19560" /><ref name="brincxiohomearchive-19561" /><ref name="digicapitalmedium-19562" /><ref name="brincxtwitter-19563" /><ref name="brincxreprandtweet-5676" /><ref name="brincxtelegram-19564" /><ref name="brincxtallyxyz-19565" /><ref name="intrinsicfundtwitter-19566" /><ref name="boringsleuthtwitter-19567" /><ref name="digicapitalkutwitter-19568" /><ref name="rektnewstweet-19569" /><ref name="brincfinancemedium1-19570" /><ref name="brincrefundended-19571" /><ref name="brinchowbridge-19572" /><ref name="brincbrcswap-19573" /><ref name="brincpostmortem-19574" /><ref name="theftbrctokens-19575" /><ref name="theftgbrctokens-19576" /><ref name="coinmarketcapeth-4651" /><ref name="brincfinanceupdate-19577" /><ref name="docketalarm-19578" /><ref name="defillama-19579" /><ref name="coinmarketcap-19580" /><ref name="brincfinancemedium-19581" /><ref name="brincmedium-19582" /><ref name="brincmedium-19583" /><ref name="brincmedium-19584" /><ref name="brincfinanceintro-19585" />

== About Brinc Finance ==
Brinc Finance introduces $BRC, a bonding curve token designed as an alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies and opaque stablecoins. Unlike Bitcoin, which suffers from extreme price swings due to its lack of intrinsic value, or stablecoins like Tether that offer no growth potential and questionable transparency, $BRC offers a new model. It is 100% backed by on-chain reserves of BTC, ETH, or DAI, and operates with complete transparency, allowing anyone to verify the reserves at any time.

Brinc Finance solves the issues of crypto volatility and opaque reserves by using a bonding curve pricing model. Every purchase of $BRC through its smart contract increases the token’s price, meaning early adopters benefit from continuous upward price movement. This algorithmic pricing also ensures that the token’s value cannot fall below the amount of crypto held in reserve. The system guarantees that price discovery is built into the protocol and visible on-chain, giving users full insight and eliminating reliance on centralized trust.

The bonding curve approach used by Brinc differs from how it’s typically applied in DeFi for automated market making and liquidity pools, as seen with projects like Uniswap or Balancer. Instead, Brinc uses the curve to determine the intrinsic value of its native token, creating a predictable, transparent, and appreciation-oriented asset. Brinc Finance aims to redefine the way tokens are issued and valued in decentralized finance, offering a more sustainable and transparent alternative to fiat-pegged stablecoins.

== The Reality ==
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

* When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
* Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
* How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
* Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

== What Happened ==
The private key of an internal developer with full contract access transferred control to an external address, enabling over $1 million in tokens to be drained and laundered through Tornado Cash.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key Event Timeline - Brinc Finance BRC Smart Contract rescueTokens Drain
!Date
!Event
!Description
|-
|December 13th, 2021 6:59:04 PM MST
|Smart Contract Owner Transferred
|The owner transferred the ownership of the Brinc staking contract to a new address.
|-
|December 13th, 2021 7:02:48 PM MST
|Transfer ETH For Fees
|Transfer of 0.5 ETH believed to be to pay for gas fees.
|-
|December 13th, 2021 7:05:14 PM MST
|New Staking Contract Deployed
|A new Brinc staking contract is deployed.
|-
|December 13th, 2021 7:05:56 PM MST
|Implementation Address Changed
|The implementation address is changed to the newly deployed staking smart contract.
|-
|December 13th, 2021 7:09:01 PM MST
|All BRC Tokens Drained
|The rescueTokens function is used to drain all the gBRC tokens from the smart contract.
|-
|December 13th, 2021 7:09:58 PM MST
|All gBRC Tokens Drained
|The rescueTokens function is used to drain all the gBRC tokens from the smart contract.
|-
|December 16th, 2021 11:38:45 PM MST
|Brinc Finance Postmortem
|Brinc Finance publishes a detailed post-mortem of the December 14, 2021 exploit, revealing that over $1 million in BRC and gBRC tokens were drained from the staking contract and converted to ETH. The attack was linked to their own Head of Development, who had exclusive control over the contract and has since become unresponsive, seeking legal representation. The team has revoked his access, initiated legal action, and is addressing security vulnerabilities. Brinc has disabled staking and committed to rebuilding trust while planning further updates to support affected users.
|-
|December 21st, 2021 10:01:19 PM MST
|Brinc Updates Plans Moving Forward
|Brinc Finance publishes an update acknowledging the distress caused by a recent exploit and outlines its ongoing recovery and future plans. The team has reported the incident to federal law enforcement and continues to pursue the uncooperative suspect. Affected users will be compensated using treasury assets, with further compensation options and a relaunch in the works. A snapshot of all staked assets has been planned for transparency, and more detailed audit and repayment information will follow. Brinc Finance remains committed to making things right and continuing the project.
|-
|April 3rd, 2023 3:07:00 AM MDT
|Brinc Finance Rebrands To Brink X
|A public rebranding campaign.
|-
|May 14th, 2025 10:25:00 AM MDT
|Rekt News Article
|Rekt News publishes their article about the situation.
|}

== Technical Details ==
"On Dec. 14th, 2021 UTC, a series of actions/transactions occurred, resulting in the loss of all tokens in the staking contract (BRC & gBRC)." "The only person within our team that had full authority over the staking contract, was our Head of Development."

== Total Amount Lost ==
"The attacker gained 292 ETH (worth over $1 million)"

The total amount lost has been estimated at $1,105,000 USD.

== Immediate Reactions ==
"Brinc.fi worked with Certik to investigate the incident and prepared the following initial report.

After the exploit, [the Head of Development] hasn’t been responsive to our questions and investigations. As the Head of Development, he had the responsibility to keep the contract secure. After continuous attempts to establish contact with him since the event, he has chosen to get legal representation in the form of an attorney. We will be exploring all legal avenues to resolve this issue.

More urgently, we have removed his rights/permissions and blocked this person’s access to any of our code and internal information. Additionally, we will fix the security issues that have led to this event and will be including additional security measures. Until we do, staking on Brinc.fi will be disabled. Users who attempt to stake directly via the contract will do so at their own risk."

== Ultimate Outcome ==
The Brinc.fi team suspected the former head of development, Daniel Choi, as the individual responsible for the exploit. Following the incident, Choi was unresponsive and retained legal representation, prompting Brinc.fi to pursue a civil case against him for theft and fraud. As of March 5, 2024, a deposition was conducted, but Choi did not answer all questions, and the deposition was adjourned due to his health concerns. The civil case remains ongoing, with Brinc.fi continuing its efforts to hold Choi accountable.

== Total Amount Recovered ==
The Brinc.fi team reports a desire for users to be made whole. However, no concrete plans were ever proposed or implemented that didn't involve Choi returning funds.

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

== Ongoing Developments ==
While Brinc Finance appears to no longer have a website, Twitter, or active Telegram, they promised 'The team is committed to doing whatever we can to make it right. We’re not giving up on the project and our vision.".
== Individual Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Individuals:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Individuals:End}}

== Platform Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Platforms:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Platforms:End}}

== Regulatory Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Regulators:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Regulators:End}}

== References ==
<references><ref name="brincfirekt-19558">[https://rekt.news/brincfi-rekt-coldcase BrincFi - Rekt Cold Case - Rekt] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincfihomearchive-19559">[https://web.archive.org/web/20211209122154/https://brinc.fi/ Brinc.fi Homepage - Archive December 9th, 2021 5:21:54 AM MST] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="ownertransferetherscan-19560">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x09ae252d00122864070461e78810a3b91c4fb64076f72eb6dba775a80ca00df4 Transaction Transferring Ownership - Etherscan] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincxiohomearchive-19561">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230330051604/https://brincx.io Brincx.io Homepage - Archive April 3rd, 2023 3:22:34 AM MDT] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="digicapitalmedium-19562">[https://medium.com/@digicapital/crypto-project-research-brinc-fi-brc-7f1bc92e81c8 Crypto Project Research : Brinc.Fi ($ BRC) - DigiCapital Research Institute] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincxtwitter-19563">[https://twitter.com/brinc_x Brinc_X New Twitter/X Account] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincxreprandtweet-5676">[ ] (Accessed Jan 16, 2022)</ref>

<ref name="brincxtelegram-19564">[https://t.me/s/Brinc_X Brinc_X Telegram Channel] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincxtallyxyz-19565">[https://www.tally.xyz/gov/arbitrum/delegate/0x30d5d30e43b6167a345f3d71d61673464e16d711 BrincX Arbitrum Delegation Statement] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="intrinsicfundtwitter-19566">[https://twitter.com/intrinsic_fund/status/1640198476628914177 @intrinsic_fund Twitter] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="boringsleuthtwitter-19567">[https://twitter.com/BoringSleuth/status/1724674858846388522 @BoringSleuth Twitter] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="digicapitalkutwitter-19568">[https://twitter.com/DigiCapitalKu/status/1632688850861694983 @DigiCapitalKu Twitter] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="rektnewstweet-19569">[https://twitter.com/RektHQ/status/1922689641871753720 Rekt News - "A backdoor function drained the @BrincFi staking contract in 2021. They allege an ex-dev, still active in crypto, was behind it. The funds vanished, the dev moved on - and the cold case still sits open, with users left behind." - Twitter/X] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincfinancemedium1-19570">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/post-exploit-updates-plans-moving-forward-45a495ba7e5b Updates & Plans Moving Forward - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincrefundended-19571">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/brinc-fi-gbrc-recall-refund-28db866e98db Brinc.fi: $gBRC Recall & Refund - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brinchowbridge-19572">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/brinc-fi-how-to-bridge-buy-stake-earn-brc-on-arbitrum-l2-aea0aaa1960a Brinc.fi: How to Bridge, Buy, Stake & Earn $BRC on Arbitrum L2 on Desktop & Mobile = Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincbrcswap-19573">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/announcement-brc-l1-to-l2-brc-swap-to-arbitrum-c01e0a0a5a7f Announcement: $BRC (L1) to (L2) $BRC Swap to Arbitrum - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincpostmortem-19574">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/brinc-fi-exploit-post-mortem-76ca6b355211 Exploit Post-Mortem - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="theftbrctokens-19575">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x03bae1ef2096d490e277cc2aa46022b1985db70b59fd8801b3a9Bdfbf9c510db Theft Of BRC Tokens - Etherscan] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="theftgbrctokens-19576">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x729c2888077942764f9c3ea7aae6b22d8d92b37dec0e96f63589a97e2926da27 Theft Of gBRC Tokens - Etherscan] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="coinmarketcapeth-4651">[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/ Ethereum Price History and Historical Data | CoinMarketCap] (Accessed Dec 21, 2021)</ref>

<ref name="brincfinanceupdate-19577">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/update-daniel-choi-fraud-and-theft-case-72ffabff3335 Update: Daniel Choi Fraud and Theft Case - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="docketalarm-19578">[https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/California_State_Los_Angeles_County_Superior_Court/22TRCV00231/PACIFIC_COAST_CO._LTD._D-B-A_BRINCFI_VS_DANIEL_CHOI/ PACIFIC COAST CO. LTD. D/B/A BRINCFI VS DANIEL CHOI - Case 22TRCV00231 - Docket Alarm] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="defillama-19579">[https://defillama.com/protocol/brinc-finance Brinc Finance - Defi Llama] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="coinmarketcap-19580">[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/brinc-fi/ Brinc Finance - CoinMarketCap] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincfinancemedium-19581">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincmedium-19582">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/brc-bonus-early-adopters-event-4836ec0b92c5 $BRC: Bonus Early Adopters Event!] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincmedium-19583">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/highest-staking-rewards-on-ethereum-layer-2-brinc-finance-2371ceb7644b Best Defi Staking on Ethereum Layer 2 — Brinc finance $BRC - Brinc finance (✧,✦) - Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincmedium-19584">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/the-brincning-brc-ama-the-upcoming-launch-55f6a586969c The Brinc’ning: $BRC AMA & The Upcoming Launch] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref>

<ref name="brincfinanceintro-19585">[https://medium.com/@brinc.fi/brinc-finance-the-bonding-curve-token-alternative-to-stablecoins-b5a7b794a4bc Brinc Finance: The Bonding Curve Token Alternative to Stablecoins - Brinc Finance Medium] (Accessed May 14, 2025)</ref></references>

Brinc Finance BRC Smart Contract rescueTokens Drain - Revision history