Larva Labs’ Meebits NFT Hack

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Meebits

The Meebits are collectible NFT characters, with potential rare attributes. Unfortunately, these attributes were generated using a not-so-random algorithm, which was predictable based on the hash of the present block.

A hacker was able to exploit this to obtain a rare Meebit that they then resold.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

About Meebits

"Larva Labs, the OG NFT team behind CryptoPunks, released their new MeeBits project to major fanfare." "The Meebits are 20,000 unique 3D voxel characters, created by a custom generative algorithm, then registered on the Ethereum blockchain." "The NFT contract the governs ownership is a standard ERC-721 that works with any compatible service or exchange."

"If the Cryptopunks are an ideal 2D avatar for Discord, Twitter, and other social media, then we hope that the Meebits will be the 3D avatar for virtual worlds, games, and VR. We are bullish about the metaverse future, and we look forward to seeing how the Meebits are used in such environments."

"We also love low-poly and voxel 3D graphics. The style has been made popular in the last decade or so by games such as Minecraft and Roblox. We think that, just like 8-bit pixel art, the minimalism and accessibility of voxel art will prove timeless and endearing for generations to come."

"After gaining access to a zipped InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) file containing the ID and traits of each pre-minted MeeBit, Twitter user @0xNietzsche designed a contract to mint MeeBits over and over, but cancel the transaction if he didn’t receive a MeeBit with a desirable trait."

"It took 345 transactions, according to Etherescan. 0xNietzche estimated this cost him around $20k per hour in gas fees, but eventually he landed on an ultra-rare Alien “Visitor” MeeBit. He immediately sold the MeeBit on OpenSea for 200 ETH to the well-known NFT collector Pranksy (who didn’t know the MeeBit was a hack job)."

"Larva Labs has since paused MeeBits’ sale and trading functions to prevent further hacks of this sort, as one ultra-rare Dissected MeeBit remains unminted which could potentially become the prime target of a similar exploit before a fix is implemented."

"As for the exploited Visitor Meebit, which now has an enhanced lore throughout the MeeBits community, Pranksy immediately flipped it for 299 ETH."

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.

Key Event Timeline - Larva Labs’ Meebits NFT Hack

Date	Event	Description
May 8th, 2021	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

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 $765,000 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

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

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?

General Prevention Policies

In this particular case, the exploit was related to the random number generation, which could have been modified to use the hash of many blocks ahead, a value which could not be predicted.

This exploit is not really related to cryptocurrency exchange, nor did it result in a financial loss.

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.