The latest viral app was introduced just under a week ago and swiftly garnered a dedicated fan base.
Stars Arena, a rising platform on Avalanche, faced a significant loss today as attackers exploited a smart contract designed to safeguard tokens within the social application. Approximately $3 million worth of AVAX tokens from Avalanche were siphoned off, resulting in Stars Arena holding less than $1 in funds after the breach.
The initial warning of the exploit appeared to come from Twitter user @0xLawliette during the early hours of Saturday in the Asian time zone, with another user, @0xlilitch, raising concerns about potential security vulnerabilities.
The Stars Arena development team officially confirmed the attack in a tweet on Saturday morning.
Stars Arena made its debut slightly over a week ago and rapidly garnered a dedicated following within the Avalanche community.
Some participants even earned up to 1,000 AVAX in trading fees through the platform.
Notably, it contributed to a surge in the price of AVAX tokens, driving them up by as much as 6% at a certain point during the week.
The cryptocurrency markets continue to be a breeding ground for inadequate security practices and illicit activities, with breaches and cyberattacks responsible for an estimated loss of approximately $1.3 billion in value in 2023 alone.
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