Vulcan Forged Loses $100 Million After 148 PYR Wallets Were Hacked

ChainPlay

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3 years ago

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On December 13th, NFT-enabled marketplace, Vulcan Forged became the most recent victim of crypto hacking activities. In a tweet posted on Vulcan’s page, the platform announced, “148 wallets holding PYR have been compromised. Over 4.5m PYR has been stolen.”

148 wallets holding PYR have been compromised. Over 4.5m PYR has been been stolen.

While we will replace the PYR taken, our first steps are understanding what’s happened. No words can do much right now, we know that. We’ll keep updated. — Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 13, 2021

The tweet then continued to read, “While we will replace the PYR taken, our first steps are understanding what’s happened. No words can do much right now, we know that. We’ll keep you updated.” Vulcan Forged, which is home to a premium blockchain gaming ecosystem, is counting losses of about $100 million, following the security breech. This news has hit the crypto market hard, with many wondering who could  have done it. Fortunately, Vulcan Forged exposed in another tweet that they know the wallet responsible for the hacking. “This is the wallet responsible: 0x48ad05a3B73c9E7fAC5918857687d6A11d2c73B1,” said the tweet.

PKs of 148 wallets of users stolen.

1. We’re powerless in their removal of funds from wallets that have had their PKs stolen and funds not moved out. 2. We are moving to a complete decentralized wallet setup. 3. All PYR stolen will be replaced by our treasury. — Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 13, 2021

Vulcan Forged Efforts To Contain The Hack

Vulcan’s team also continued to assure their users that they are taking the necessary measures to prevent the hackers wallet from gaining access to other protocols. “We have contacted all exchanges to blacklist that address. It also seems the wallet owner may have KYCd on an exchange we’re now in contact with.” In the meantime, Vulcan Forged is planning on replacing the stolen PYR. In a statement made by Vulcan Forged executives,  the platform aims to compensate all their affected customers. The executives assured the community that, “All PYR stolen will be replaced by our treasury.” Consequently, the blockchain gaming giant is also taking extra caution by moving to a fully decentralized wallet setup. To this effect, the Vulcan team advised users to shift funds to Metamask. In yet another tweet, Volcan Forged told it’s customers, “We will send emails out to all Vulcan wallets affected today to get a metamask address from you. We’ll replace your PYR and LAVA from our treasury. We are removing the semi-custodial solution from the entire Vulcan ecosystem. Please give us today to get our heads around this.”

We will send emails out to all Vulcan wallets affected today to get a metamask address from you.

We’ll replace your PYR and LAVA from our treasury. We are removing the semi custodial solution from the entire Vulcan ecosystem. Please give us today to get our heads around this. — Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 13, 2021

Although there’s still very little information about the details of the hack, what is evident is that 148 wallets had their Public Keys (PKs) stolen. It is also alleged that  it was possible for the hacker to gain access to the wallets because he or she had gotten the right to use the “personal essential.”

Crypto Hacks Becoming Rampant Over Time

Crypto Security breaches are quickly becoming a worrying trend. These hacks, some of which are enormous in size, are casting a dark shadow on the mainstream adoption of virtual currencies, and also causing unwarranted turbulence on their prices. Breaches like the  AscendEX one, which syphoned an estimated $80 million from a hot wallet, and the earlier Badger DAO that cleared $ 120 million, or the BitMart that took $ 200 million, are all examples of the prevalence of crypto attacks. Their effects are dire, as can attest Vulcan Fodge, who at press time, had the PYR register a 10.79% drop, trading at below $24.

Updates

Since the hack took place, Vulcan Forged has clarified that 96 and not 148 wallets were affected. They have also replaced all $PYR and efforts to replace all the stolen ETH, MATIC, and USDC are underway. Vulcan Forged has also said that all My Forge wallets have been secured, and an ETA for the new wallet system was set for 16th December. This will enable them to buy back and burn $PYR eventually.

The affected wallets are 96, not 148. All wallets will receive emails with instructions on how to setup a Metamask and your PYR will be replaed and sent there immediately.

— Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 13, 2021

All My Forge wallets have been secured. Only a few needing PYR back. ETA for new wallet system: 2 days. We’ll be conducting a buy back and burn once things have been settled. We are emerging from this stronger and more secure. A valuable lesson. Wen tower defense?$PYR pic.twitter.com/9JFHOps22F

— Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 13, 2021

The NFT-enabled marketplace has also isolated tokens stolen from all CEX exchanges and is trying to find footprints. So far, 3 CEXes have frozen 100ETH. All the recovered ETH recovered will buy back PYR. Besides that, all affected users and those who didn’t sell any $PYR following the hack will get the 'Resilience' Achievement.

As we get ready to announce what all want to hear about this hack and how it'll be dealt with, we want to tell you those who were affected by it OR didn't sell one $PYR during it will receive the 'Resilience' Achievement. This will be one of the strongest achievements yet.👀 pic.twitter.com/oRKQjEaZnS

— Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) December 15, 2021

One of the most recent updates has Vulcan Forged advising all users with $PYR liquidity on Uniswap or Quickswap to drain it. This applies to those with PYR - ETH and PYR - MATIC pairs to the dexes. Draining the liquidity will give less liquidity for the stolen funds and help prepare for the next phase in 'Project Rebound'.