Shibarium Bridge Hack: K9 DAO Pathway Options

An option must receive more than 50% of total votes to pass; if none do, the top two options advance to a runoff vote.

This vote asks KNINE holders to decide the response of K9 DAO following the September 12, 2025 Shibarium bridge exploit, which resulted in the loss of over 23% of the KNINE supply and significantly impacted DAO operations.

Since the exploit, K9 DAO has pursued recovery efforts, coordinated with security researchers and the DAO legal team, traced exploited funds, contacted exchanges, and sought clarity from Shiba Inu - but the stolen funds remain unrecovered, and no viable compensation path has been provided. Shiba Inu has proposed a "Shib Owes You" (SOU) NFT that is an onchain representation of debt and not a concrete repayment plan.

Meanwhile, Shibarium's declining economic activity has reduced the viability of K9’s original liquid staking model, compressing runway and forcing the DAO to consider major strategic changes. Current activity levels have the K9 product operating at a loss on Shibarium.

The proposal outlines six possible paths forward that were sourced from DAO members, each with different implications for the protocol, treasury, token utility, and runway.

This Snapshot vote distills those options and allows the community to choose the direction that best supports sustainability, fairness, and the continued viability of K9 DAO.

The decision now rests entirely with KNINE DAO holders (in a real decentralized fashion), who may decide how and if K9 DAO will repay its holders on Shib's behalf, and whether or not K9 DAO will continue operating products on the chain after the compromise and lack of repayment.

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Option 1 — Stay the Course

• Shibarium + Ethereum
• Continue Shibarium validator + liquid staking at a loss
• Wait for bridge reopen and Shib-owed compensation

Option 2 — Ethereum-Only

• Pause and open source all Shibarium products for other operators
• KNINE operates on ETH
• Shibarium holders wait for Shib-owed compensation
• Maximally extend DAO runway

Option 3 — Treasury Compensation + Stay

• Treasury replaces stolen >23%
• Continue Shibarium operations at a loss until treasury depletes
• Cancel airdrop due to treasury impact

Option 4 — Treasury Compensation + ETH Pivot

• Treasury replaces stolen >23%
• Pause and open source all Shibarium products for other operators
• KNINE operates on ETH
• Shibarium holders wait for Shib-owed compensation

Option 5 — Mint ~23% on New EVM Chain + Exit Shibarium

• Sunset Shibarium products
• Mint replacement ~23% on new chain with claim portal
• Migrate treasury liquidity
• Split focus to a new chain

Option 6 — Full Migration via New Token Acquisition + Exit Shibarium

• New token 1:1 replacement excluding hacker-held tokens
• Rebrand/audits
• Sunset Shibarium
• Airdrop included in migration claim
• Significantly reduce DAO runway