Holograph Protocol Faces Exploit, Hacker Mints 1 Billion Native HLG Token

Abstract generation in progress

Sujha Sundararajan

Last updated:

June 14, 2024 06:24 EDT | 1 min read

Holograph, an omnichain tokenization protocol, has been exploited by malicious actors on Thursday, draining 1 billion native HLG token. The crypto fell nearly 80% in value, following the hack.

In yet another staggering hack, perpetrators mined 1 billion HLG tokens and absconded with tokens worth $14.4 million. The platform posted on X that the team has “patched the initial exploit” and is working to freeze exploiters’ accounts.

“The team has patched the initial exploit & is working with exchange partners to lock the malicious accounts. The team has launched an investigation & is in the process of contacting law enforcement.”

The Holograph Operator contract has been exploited by a malicious actor, enabling the hacker to mint 1 billion additional HLG

The team has patched the initial exploit & is working with exchange partners to lock the malicious accounts

The team has launched an investigation & is…

— Holograph (@holographxyz) June 13, 2024

Per data from Etherscan, exploiters drained the tokens starting June 13 at 9:47 am UTC through nine transactions. According to the on-chain data, the ENS wallet acc01ade.eth was involved in the hack.

Additionally, Github suggested that the attackers are also contributors to the protocol. Last year, they made 113 contributions to Holograph, it added.

Holograph’s HLG Token Plummets Nearly 80%

Minutes after the hack, the native token of Holograph Protocol – HLG’s price stumbled. According to CoinGecko data, the token fell from $0.014 to as low as $0.0029, plummeting 79.4% on Thursday.

Source: CoinGeckoSince the hack, the token has recovered is now trading at $0.0063.

Further, Etherscan showed that the exploiter started converting the stolen HLG tokens into Tether stablecoin (USDT), four hours after the exploit.

The hack comes months after the Protocol closed $11 million in a strategic funding round from prominent VCs. The funding round was led by Andrew Kang’s Mechanism Capital and Jordi Alexander’s Selini Capital.

Holograph said at the time that it would use the funds to develop its omnichain gaming. Holograph allows game developers to tokenize assets on multiple chains.

The protocol launched its mainnet in 2023, and since then, it a has facilitated the minting of over 10 million omnichain tokens by 1.5 million unique wallets.