QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$1 200 000 USD
MAY 2025
GLOBAL
MAPLESTORY UNIVERSE
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
MapleStory Universe (MSU) is a blockchain-powered metaverse ecosystem built around Nexon’s iconic MapleStory IP. Rather than being a single game, it’s a decentralized virtual world where multiple interconnected applications and mini-games share the same assets and economic systems. All in-game items—including characters, cosmetics, and weapons—are transformed into NFTs with fixed total supplies, enabling true ownership, cross-application transfer, and player-driven marketplaces).
At its core is MapleStory N, a brand-new blockchain-infused version of MapleStory, offering item scarcity, NFT rewards, and a revamped in-game economy free of the traditional cash shop model. This is joined by MapleStory N Mobile (a mobile version with cross-platform interoperability), MapleStory N Worlds (a sandbox creation platform for user-generated content), and the MapleStory N SDK—a suite of developer tools enabling creators to design new games or apps within the ecosystem.
The broader ambition behind MSU is to pioneer what Nexon calls “Reward Experience (RX)”—a decentralized model in which players, creators, and developers are incentivized and rewarded through transparent blockchain economics. By basing the ecosystem on the NEXPACE Protocol, MSU aims to expand beyond MapleStory into a multi-IP multiverse where interoperability, user contribution, and shared governance define future value. Chainlink VRF, Avalanche (and Polygon Supernet) support ensure fast, fair, and scalable operations across the ecosystem.
The NPXU token launch was highly anticipated.
An MEV bot (automated smart contract) spotted a significant price discrepancy for the NXPC token between two different PancakeSwap V3 liquidity pools on the BSC network. Because these pools had diverging prices—something that shouldn't persist in a healthy market—the bot performed a cross-pool arbitrage to buy low in one pool and sell high in the other. This operation resulted in a $1.2 million profit.
To ensure its transaction was executed ahead of any other bots or users who may have noticed the same opportunity, the bot paid a 97 BNB “bribe” (roughly $50,000–$60,000 depending on BNB price at the time) to the block builder or validator who produced the block containing the transaction. This is common in MEV transactions to outbid competitors in the transaction mempool or private relays.
Profit from the arbitrage was reported as $1.2m.
The incident was reported on by TenArmor and a couple of other Twitter/X users.
The MEV bot gained a profit of $1.2m USD.
Given that this was not the result of any crime or fraud, it is unlikely to be recovered.
There is nothing remaining to learn about here.
TenArmor - "An MEV bot captured a large arbitrage opportunity involving the #NXPC token due to a price misalignment between two PancakeSwapV3 pools of the $NXPC token on #BSC, earning a profit of $1.2M with a 97 BNB bribe to the builder." - Twitter/X (Aug 1)
Arbitrage Exploit Transaction - BSCScan (Aug 1)
Soong1911 - "Big shot single transaction $NXPC arbitrage $1.2m, bribed 98BNB." - Twitter/X Translated (Aug 1)
QASH_NFT - "Reflecting a bit on this Maple listing battle ($NXPC) from an Atomic Botter perspective. The top player paid 10 million yen in fees and made a profit of 200 million yen. i) Since the operator wallet launched the token on Avalanche and showed behavior likely to use LFJ's DEX, I created a contract for sniping." - Twitter/X (Aug 1)
NXPC Smart Contract - BSCScan (Aug 1)
NXPC Smart Contract Creation - BSCScan (Aug 1)
Maplestory Universe - CoinMarketCap (Aug 1)
NXPC Price History - CoinGecko (Aug 1)
MapleStory Universe Homepage (Aug 1)
What is NXPC? Complete Guide to MapleStory Universe - MEXC Blog (Aug 1)
What Is NXPC? MapleStory Universe’s Game-Changing Token Explained - Phemex Academy (Aug 1)
MapleStory Universe - Twitter/X (Aug 1)
The NXPC Token Economy: Redefining Reward Experience - MapleStory Universe Medium (Aug 1)
Inside MapleStory Universe: Nexon’s Web3 Vision - Polygon Labs (Aug 1)
MapleStory Universe Game Tokenomics & NXPC Overview - Web3Games (Aug 1)
Understanding MapleStory Universe: A Comprehensive Guide - BingX (Zendesk) (Aug 1)
[Leaders’ Note] MapleStory Universe Is Just the First Step Toward the Multiverse We Envision - MapleStory Universe Medium (Aug 1)
A Borderless World: MapleStory Universe - MapleStory Universe Medium (Aug 1)
