Munchables Rogue Developer Theft
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Munchables was an NFT game built on the Blast blockchain. Shortly after the project had garnered a significant investment, it was found that one of the developers had created and exploited a back door allowing them the ability to withdraw all of the funds. After some heated coaxing, the developer was ultimately found to be willing to return all of the funds.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
About Munchables
"It's time to restore reality Oops. We blasted the peaceful world of the Munchables out of existence. The clans are now divided between ethereal realms. Our mission is to reunite them."
"Munchables is a twist on GameFi that adds evolving NFTs into the mix. The game is built on top of Blast leveraging its unique on-chain primitives to create an incentive filled journey for all players."
"Every day your Munchables can unlock rewards, such as:
Schnibbles Your Munchable's favourite snack! Use this to feed and evolve your Munchables.
Munch points Native points that can only be earned through strategic Munching.
Blast points Keep earning your Blast points even after depositing into the lockdrop.
Blast gold Proportional allocation to our Blast developer airdrop based on your Snuggery performance.
Blast airdrop Munchables were a winner in the Blast Big Bang competition, we will be airdropping those additional rewards."
"It's schnibble time Dive deeper into the realms of the Munchables. Learn how to nurture them, level up, and unlock their true potential. But beware of the cute - they are not all as harmless as they seem."
"Four different devs hired by the Munchables team and linked to the exploiter are likely all the same person"
"The Blast L2 Big Bang award-winning project Munchables was exploited for $62.5M by a rogue dev. Funds retrieved from dev within a few hours in a rollercoaster ride of a day."
"Munchables has been compromised. We are tracking movements and attempting to stop the the transactions. We will update as soon as we know more."
"We can confirm that the full refund distribution process has now been completed.
Next up is processing the Blast rewards to all OG lockdrop players.
Then, we begin the next chapter.
Get ready to Munch"
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| March 26th, 2024 3:37:00 PM MDT | Compromise Tweet | The compromise is noted in a public tweet. The team is "tracking movements and attempting to stop the the transactions". |
| March 26th, 2024 10:29:00 PM MDT | ZachXBT Tweet | ZachXBT notes a suspicion that the developers are most likely all the same person. |
Technical Details
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost has been estimated at $62,500,000 USD.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
The total amount recovered has been estimated at $62,500,000 USD.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
Individual Prevention Policies
No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.
Platform Prevention Policies
Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.
Regulatory Prevention Policies
No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.
References
- ↑ Rekt - Munchables - REKT (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ @zachxbt Twitter (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ @_munchables_ Twitter (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ @0xshabby Twitter (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ @_munchables_ Twitter (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ Munchables | Start Your Mission (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ Welcome to Munchables | Munchables (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ Concept | Munchables (Apr 23, 2024)
- ↑ @0xQuit Twitter (Apr 23, 2024)