River Token Plummets 72% in Coordinated DeFi Attack Exploiting Liquidity Weaknesses

The River token (RIVER) and its associated River Points system suffered a severe 72% price drop over 48 hours, following a carefully orchestrated market attack that began on November 7, 2025. Attackers exploited low liquidity periods by opening large short positions, rapidly converting River Points into RIVER tokens, and executing concentrated sales, creating intense selling pressure. This Soros-style attack targeted discrepancies between contract and spot trading volumes, amplifying the price impact and causing panic across exchanges.

In response, the River team initiated large-scale spot buybacks to stabilize prices and temporarily suspended River Points conversions to prevent further collapse. The team described this as a trolley-problem moment, prioritizing long-term ecosystem health over short-term gains. They have provided complete buyback records to Binance and other exchanges and are now reviewing security upgrades, including redesigning the conversion mechanism with enhanced risk controls and improving transparency through on-chain data publication.

The incident underscores critical DeFi vulnerabilities, such as the need for better monitoring during low liquidity and stronger safeguards against point system exploitation. River has committed to reopening conversions only after implementing safer models and is hosting community AMAs to address concerns, aiming to turn the crisis into an opportunity for resilience.