NFT Trader Hacked, Hacker Demands Ransom in Ethereum

In a shocking turn of events, NFT Trader, a renowned peer-to-peer trading platform for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has suffered a significant security breach. The hacker behind the attack has managed to steal valuable digital assets, including rare NFTs from well-known collections such as Bored Ape and Mutant Ape Yacht Club, World of Women NFTs, VeeFriends, and Art Blocks. The stolen tokens are estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

The NFT Trader team has confirmed the breach and revealed that the attackers exploited "old smart contracts." They were able to halt the attacks after the platform updated its contracts to address the reentrancy vulnerability. The team issued a statement advising users to use additional security measures like revoke(.)cash after completing transactions on any platform and to employ cold wallets for added safety without interacting with any smart contracts directly.

In response, the hacker left a public message in the blockchain, offering to return the tokens for a ransom. They demanded 3 ETH for Bored Ape and 0.6 ETH for Mutant Ape.

"I'm a good person, and the value of these NFTs is enough for a comfortable life, but I don't care... My technical skills are limited, and I can't retrieve all the affected tokens at once, which costs me a lot of energy and time, so... If you want them back, you must pay me a reward - that's what I deserve," the hacker wrote.

Meanwhile, the NFT market has witnessed a surge in activity in recent weeks. Over the past 7 days, the trading volume of NFTs has grown by 52.81%, totaling $503.35 million. The rally has been driven by "ordinals," with Bitcoin NFTs on the blockchain accounting for $276.79 million of the total volume.

The growing interest and investment in NFTs can partly be attributed to the bullish sentiment in the overall market, as capital tends to flow into non-fungible tokens in such market conditions, as stated in a recent DappRadar report.