This year, the crypto sector suffered one of its most significant security incidents after a hacker swiped $63 million (R1.2 billion) from a blockchain-based game.
The game, Munchables, confirmed the incident in a post on X on Wednesday and said it would try to halt the transactions.
Blockchain specialist PeckShield indicated that the hacker stole 17,400 Ether tokens worth about $63 million at current prices.
Public data on crypto transactions backed the estimate.
It seems @_munchables_ lock contract has an issue, which was exploited to drain 17.4K ETH ($62.3M) to the following address: https://t.co/SvddMitdNJ https://t.co/GZsPPO2VHt pic.twitter.com/7fFEEyPSaZ
— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) March 26, 2024
Gamers in Munchables try to earn rewards by looking after, or farming, bug-eyed digital creatures.
Earlier this week, the project said the value of crypto tokens held in the protocol had topped $80 million (R1.5 billion).
The security incident triggered a flurry of unsubstantiated speculation that a rogue developer or even North Korean hackers were to blame.
The number of North Korean-linked hacks of crypto platforms hit a record high in 2023, though the actual amount of funds stolen — slightly more than $1 billion — dropped around 40%, based on data from blockchain sleuths Chainalysis Inc.
The Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking unit, infamously stole around $600 million (R11.3 billion) from the blockchain underpinning Axie Infinity, once one of the sector’s most popular games.
Security exploits overall cost the digital-asset industry about $1.8 billion last year, down around 50% from 2022, according to Immunefi, a platform offering bounties to researchers who spot security flaws in crypto software.
Munchables is built on Blast, a so-called Layer 2 that promises more efficient transactions than established blockchains and airline-like loyalty points.
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