Avalanche-Based App Stars Arena Loses $3M in Smart Contract Exploit

Stars Arena, the Avalanche blockchain-based SocialFi upstart, lost about $3M of user funds in exploit, less than two weeks after is launch.

Stars Arena said via a tweet that their platform has been hit by a smart contract exploit, combined with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The attack drained the platform of its funds and resulted in the total value locked (TVL) dropping to zero from nearly $1.3M, according to DeFiLlama.

The amount lost was $3M, Emin Gun Sirer, Avalanche founder tweeted.

"We are deeply sorry for what happened," the Stars Arena team tweeted. "Our smart contract was exploited and the funds were drained. The site is currently under DDOS attack. We are working on a solution to get everyone’s funds recovered and have the Arena move forward."

Currently, it is unclear who is responsible for the exploit and subsequent DDoS attack. Users of the platform are urged to stay vigilant and watch for updates from Stars Arena as they work on resolving the crisis.

Speed Bump

Sirer downplayed the hack saying Stars Arena can easily recover the funds.

"Stars Arena is a profitable service that makes money. The amount lost, $3m, is something that SA can recover in about 10 days or so. Worst case, the team can borrow $3m and pay it back with interest," Sirer tweeted. "The bottom line is that SA is insanely fun and viral, and the hack is a mere speed bump on the path to buttoning down the contract."

This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of security in the rapidly growing world of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, as users' funds are at stake, even when the app is a game.

In the coming days, Stars Arena is expected to release more information about the incident and their plans to restore the platform and make users whole.