The peer-to-peer trading platform NFT Trader was hacked in a major security breach, resulting in the theft of numerous valuable NFTs, including those from the renowned Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
Following the incident, NFT Trader contacted its user base urgently, urging them to revoke access to two compromised smart contracts to prevent further exploits.
In a Twitter post responding to the hack’s aftermath, NFT Trader emphasized the importance of user vigilance in protecting their digital assets.
The primary hacker, whose identity has not been revealed, communicated via the blockchain, claiming that the initial goal of the hack was to eliminate “residual garbage.”
The situation deteriorated, however, when the hacker demanded 3 ETH to release Bored Apes and 0.6 ETH to release Mutant Apes.
To make matters more complicated, the hacker kept the ApeCoin incentives while unexpectedly refunding one Bored Ape and 31 ETH to a user and returning some staked Bored Apes to their rightful owners.
Auxiliary hacks were reported after users with additional NFTs, such as Squiggles and Cool Cats, discovered their wallets had been compromised. The unexpected nature of the hacker’s actions has divided the community in its reaction.
Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, volunteered to pay in ETH to retrieve the 50 apes and return them to their rightful owners.
The fallout from this large-scale NFT heist is still unfolding, raising security concerns among the NFT trading community.
