Millions in Mutant Ape/Bored Ape NFTs Swiped in Hack

Hackers have apparently stolen millions of dollars worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a recent security breach.

Peer-to-peer trading platform NFT Trader confirmed the breach on X Saturday (Dec. 16), saying it had “suffered an attack on old smart contracts.”

And the website Revoke.cash said that the stolen NFTs included 37 from the popular Bored Ape line, 13 from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, as well as some from VeeFriends and World of Women NFTs, adding up to losses of nearly $3 million.

According to CoinTelegraph, the hack was followed by rumors and misinformation on social media, while it remains uncertain how many hackers were involved.

That report quotes a public message from one of the hackers, who said the original exploit was the work of a different user.

“I came here to pick up residual garbage,” they wrote, asking for a ransom to return the NFTs.

The breach follows a number of other attacks on digital asset platforms in recent weeks and months, including one last week at the crypto wallet firm Ledger in which hackers were able to make off with $484,000 after inserting malicious code into Ledger’s blockchain software, 

“Ledger’s technology and security teams were alerted and a fix was deployed within 40 minutes of Ledger becoming aware,” Ledger said in a post on X. “The malicious file was live for around 5 hours, however we believe the window where funds were drained was limited to a period of less than two hours.”

Last week also brought the news that digital asset platform HTX had seen a $258 million net outflow following a hack of its own, in which HTX lost $30 million in crypto tokens, leading the company to suspend activity.

An HTX spokesperson told Bloomberg the outflow is “a small fraction of our total reserves, indicating a stable and robust platform” and added that the company is committed to offering a “secure and seamless” trading experience.

And in November, a hacker stole $27 million in crypto from a Binance-connected wallet, converting them to ether and then transferring them to other exchanges and bridges. September saw reports that digital asset transaction network Mixin had halted withdrawals and deposits following a $200 million hack.