Avalanche Social App Stars Arena Loses $3 Million in AVAX Following Security Breach

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.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay