Is Blackhole CLMM Safe?
Risk Grade: C+ (41/100)
Blackhole CLMM is rated as elevated risk — multiple novel mechanisms and notable interaction risks.
Elevated risk — ve(3,3) emission death spiral has materially played out, reducing this to a ghost protocol at $2M TVL with near-zero token value and no visible recovery catalyst
Blackhole CLMM is a decentralized exchange on Avalanche offering concentrated liquidity, standard AMM, and stablecoin pools. It uses a ve(3,3) governance model where BLACK token holders can lock tokens to vote on which liquidity pools receive emission rewards. Built as a fork of ThenaFi and audited by Code4rena, it also features Genesis Pools for new token launches. Its C+ grade reflects a ThenaFi-based codebase with partially unmitigated audit findings, trivially cheap governance capture at sub-$1M FDV, and a protocol that has shed 97% of TVL as its ve(3,3) emission death spiral materialized.
TVL
$2M
Mechanisms
6
Interactions
4
Value Grade
D-
Key Risks for Blackhole CLMM Users
The ve(3,3) emission death spiral has already played out — TVL collapsed from $68M to $2M as BLACK token fell 99%+ from its all-time high, and the remaining deposits have no meaningful yield incentive to stay
With under $1M in total token value, it is trivially cheap for any actor to buy up voting power and redirect rewards to themselves at everyone else's expense
The code is forked from ThenaFi with two unmitigated medium vulnerabilities from the Code4rena audit still in production — one can block deposit operations via griefing attack
Top Risk Factors
- •ve(3,3) tokenomics model creates complex emission-governance flywheel where veNFT holders control emissions — governance capture is trivially cheap at sub-$1M FDV
- •ThenaFi fork introduces inherited codebase risk — Code4rena audit (June 2025) found 2 mitigated HIGH findings and 2 unmitigated MEDIUM findings (griefing DoS on deposits, permit front-running); any undiscovered vulnerabilities in shared codebase propagate to Blackhole
- •Concentrated liquidity positions face impermanent loss amplification when asset prices move outside selected ranges, with LPs potentially losing 100% of position value in one asset
How Blackhole CLMM Compares to Peers
Blackhole CLMM ranks #87 of 116 DEX protocols (below-median — riskier than average). At a risk score of 41/100, it's 7 points riskier than the sector average of 34/100.
Adjacent peers: SparkDex V3 (C+, 40/100) is ranked just safer, and Bluefin Spot (C+, 41/100) is ranked just riskier.
See the full DEX sector leaderboard or the Blackhole CLMM vs Bluefin Spot comparison.
Common Questions about Blackhole CLMM
Plain-English answers based on Blackhole CLMM's scores across Hindenrank's 8 risk dimensions. The highest-scoring (riskiest) dimension is Vitality Risk (10/10).
Has Blackhole CLMM ever been hacked or exploited?
Blackhole CLMM has had some operational issues or moderate incidents in its history. The track record dimension scored 6/15 — not catastrophic, but enough to flag. Look at the specific events and whether they were addressed by the team before drawing conclusions.
How much money is at stake in Blackhole CLMM?
Blackhole CLMM currently holds under $2M in user deposits — small enough that liquidity events could affect exits. Smaller TVL means individual depositors carry a larger share of any loss event, and it can be harder to exit a position quickly during stress.
What's the worst-case scenario for Blackhole CLMM?
Hindenrank has identified specific collapse scenarios for Blackhole CLMM. The most prominent: "ve(3,3) Emission Death Spiral". The trigger condition is BLACK token price declines 50%+ causing emission incentives to become insufficient to attract LPs, triggering TVL withdrawal cascade. Reading through the full scenario list on the protocol page is the single best way to understand the actual failure modes — generic "smart contract risk" is rarely the thing that takes a protocol down.
Is Blackhole CLMM regulated or insured?
Blackhole CLMM has some regulatory exposure (4/10), typical of mid-sized DeFi protocols. There is no specific enforcement action on record, but the structure includes elements that regulators have flagged in similar protocols. No DeFi protocol carries FDIC-style insurance — even with low regulatory risk, depositors are not protected in the way bank customers are.
What are the biggest red flags for Blackhole CLMM?
Hindenrank's retail-focused risk audit flagged: The ve(3,3) emission death spiral has already played out — TVL collapsed from $68M to $2M as BLACK token fell 99%+ from its all-time high, and the remaining deposits have no meaningful yield incentive to stay With under $1M in total token value, it is trivially cheap for any actor to buy up voting power and redirect rewards to themselves at everyone else's expense The code is forked from ThenaFi with two unmitigated medium vulnerabilities from the Code4rena audit still in production — one can block deposit operations via griefing attack
Should beginners deposit into Blackhole CLMM?
Blackhole CLMM's C+ grade puts it in the elevated-risk band. This is not a beginner-friendly protocol. Anyone depositing here should treat the position as speculative and avoid concentrating significant savings in it.
How does Blackhole CLMM compare to safer DEX alternatives?
Blackhole CLMM is one protocol in Hindenrank's DEX coverage. The safest DEX protocols on the leaderboard tend to share three traits: a long incident-free track record, conservative mechanism design, and high-quality public documentation. Compare Blackhole CLMM against the full DEX ranking before committing capital.
For the full 8-dimension score breakdown, the radar chart, and dependency graph, see the Blackhole CLMM risk report.
Read the Full Blackhole CLMM Risk Report
This protocol has 2 collapse scenarios. 2 high-severity interaction risks identified. See the full mechanism classification, interaction matrix, and deep-dive recommendations.
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