South Korean game development and non-fungible token (NFT) platform, PlayDapp, is facing the repercussions of a private key leak that has been exploited by hackers since February 9. PlayDapp announced on February 13 that it had suspended its smart contract in order to take a screenshot for migration purposes, while the attack on the platform continued.
Details of the exploit and reactions
PeckShield, a blockchain security company, identified the leak after 200 million PLA tokens native to PlayDapp, valued at $31 million at the time of the incident, were created. Cyvers Alerts explained that the deployment address had been compromised and the attacker’s address was added as the creator. PlayDapp attempted to negotiate with the hacker via a message on X on February 10, offering a reward for the return of stolen contracts and assets while threatening to involve law enforcement, including the FBI.
Financial consequences and measures taken
Elliptic reported that an additional 1.59 billion PLA tokens, valued at $253.9 million, were created on February 12, bringing the total losses to approximately $290 million. The hackers may face difficulties in selling the illicitly minted tokens, as the total supply of PLA before the hack was only 577 million.
The value of PLA has dropped from $0.1823 to $0.1482 since the start of the hack, with a significant increase in trading volume. Nevertheless, PlayDapp is working with blockchain analytics firms, centralized exchanges, and authorities to mitigate the damage caused by the attack.
PlayDapp had launched the game ‘Along with the Gods’ on the Polygon blockchain in 2021, before ending the project in May 2023, although the game’s NFTs remain available on the PlayDapp website.
