Web3 platform Stars Arena has recovered 90% of the funds lost following a hack on October 7. The platform had to negotiate with the hacker, who received a bounty equivalent to 10% of the stolen funds, or nearly $257,000.
Stars Arena hacker wins bounty
Crypto platforms are adopting increasingly diverse approaches in response to cyberattacks. While some players are focusing on tracking down the hacker, others are taking a conciliatory approach. One example is social media platform Web3 Stars Arena. The platform, which uses the Avalanche blockchain network (AVAX), suffered a hack that cost it almost $2.9 million on October 7. Rather than hunt down the hacker, Stars Arena decided to negotiate with him. The two parties reached an agreement announced the platform on October 11.
Thanks to this agreement, the web3 platform Stars Arena has recovered around 90% of its lost funds. The Stars Arena hacker returned 239,493 AVAX to the platform in two transactions of 119,246 AVAX. This represents almost $2.2 million at the time of the announcement. In exchange for handing over 90% of the funds, the hacker received a bonus equivalent to 10%. This bonus is valued at 266,104 AVAX, or nearly $257,000. In addition, Stars Arena announces that 1,000 AVAX, or almost 9,000 dollars, are lost in a bridge.
This isn’t the first time a crypto platform has decided to reward a hacker instead of prosecuting them. Very recently, the HTX exchange, formerly known as Huobi, has paid a bounty of 250 Ethereum to a hacker who had stolen 5000 Ethereum (ETH) from him.
Stars Arena’s swift and effective response to the hack
The Stars Arena hack is intervened on October 7, causing the platform to lose $2.9 million in AVAX. According to a crypto analyst the hacker had managed to sell “tickets” for more than they were worth.
A few hours after the hack, Stars Arena had secured funding to make up for the loss caused by the hack. In addition, a special White Hat development team has been set up to quickly review the platform’s security in order to get it up and running again. Meanwhile, Stars Arena maintains transparent communication with its community. The platform regularly organized X Spaces to reassure users.
This is not the first time Stars Arena is targeted by the hacker. In fact, the platform had lost $2,000 when a minor hack on October 5, 2023. Its competitor Friends Tech is not immune either. Its users have recently lost thousands dollars as a result of a hack.
Faced with an upsurge in hacks in the crypto industry, platforms seem to have opted for the approach of negotiating with the hacker. It’s true that this approach allows platforms to recover a significant portion of lost funds! However, it is to be feared that rewarding hackers helps to reinforce and legitimize their actions.
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