Last night, a game called Munchables on Blast blockchain lost then quickly recovered $63 million in funds. As the story developed, it became apparent that the 17,413 ETH was taken by a hacker that appears to have been hired as one of the game’s developers.
Users on Crypto X were quick to lament their losses. But by early this morning, the Munchables’ team had notified its community the funds were recovered thanks to the hacker’s willingness to return the keys without any conditions or ransom.
ZachXBT, ‘a rug survivor turned 2D detective,’ identified the address holding the stolen ETH, and wrote on X that four developers hired by Munchables “are likely all the same person.” They had recommended each other for the job and funded each other’s wallets. There’s also speculation on X that the hacker is linked to North Korea, which is known for pulling off similar hacks.
After the key holding the funds was recovered, Muchables moved the money from the “exploiter wallet” to a multi-signature wallet. For now, it’s still unclear why the money was returned for no ransom.
Munchables may not have been the only platform compromised by the hack. Pacman, the founder of Blur marketplace and Blast, pointed out on X that other protocols integrating with the game, specifically the points farming protocol Juice Finance were also “affected.”
Later, he expressed gratitude that “ex Munchanbles dev opted to return all funds,” and cautioned that going forward, developers need to “be more thorough on security.” He also added that he and the Munchables’ team were working to get funds back to users.
While the returned funds was celebrated on X, the slip-up also called attention to the potential dangers of interconnected decentralized networks and the need for better security.
Blast Blockchain has a Big Month
Blast, the L2 blockchain created by the team behind the Blur NFT marketplace, launched its mainnet at the end of February this year and has quickly risen in popularity.
On CryptoSlam, Blast is currently ranked the #9 blockchain for total NFT sales volume over the past 30 days. For L2 networks, it is in the top four over the past 30 days — behind Polygon, Mythos Chain, and Immutable. Optimism and Arbitrum are also top L2 competitors with Blast.
One reason the blockchain has been so successful attracting users early on is because of the promise of high yields. Its native yield generation gives users a 5% annual percentage yield on ETH and stablecoins, which is generated from U.S. Treasury Bills and staked ETH. Like Blur, Blast incentivizes traders through earning opportunities, attracting crypto natives and degens.
One popular game on Blast called Crypto Valleys geared towards DeFI enthusiasts lets players plant NFT-based seeds with the game’s YIELD token and farm them to earn additional yields. On March 24th, $YIELD recorded $8.1 in trading volume in a single day.
In the days and weeks ahead, it will interesting to see how the Blast community reacts to the hack and recovery of the funds, but for now, users are surely relieved their staked ETH was not lost. While most crypto hack stories don’t come with a happy ending, this one looks like it turned out alright for Muchables and Blast blockchain, especially considering the stakes.
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