Following the hack of the GameFi protocol Munchables, blockchain investigator ZachXBT has been appointed as one of the four custodians of a multisignature (multisig) wallet containing the compromised user funds.
The announcement by the Munchables development team indicates a concerted effort to ensure the secure return of stolen assets to the affected users.
ZachXBT joins the ranks of Manifold Trading, Selini Capital, and Munchables itself as the fourth signer on the multisig wallet, a move to improve the protocol’s security and restore trust among its user base. ZachXBT confirmed its temporary involvement in the multisig arrangement but said it doesn’t plan to remain in the position long-term.
Additionally, Munchables announced plans to engage Nethermind for auditing all updated contracts prior to resuming operations. This step comes in the wake of successfully recovering all user assets affected by the hack, with direct refunds slated to be processed to the wallets compromised during the incident.
Munchables developers also promised “massive multiples on game rewards” and teased upcoming features, including NFT migration plans. Custodians and community members who played pivotal roles in mitigating the effects of the hack will be acknowledged with Ethereum (ETH) and future donations in the platform’s native token, MUNCH.
The hack, which led to a loss of $63 million from Munchables, operating on the Ethereum layer-2 network Blast, was attributed to a hacker using the alias “Werewolves0493,” believed to be a North Korean developer. This individual managed to infiltrate the project by masquerading as multiple developers within the Munchables team. A thorough investigation led by ZachXBT unveiled the deception, leading to the recovery of the stolen funds after the rogue developer relinquished the private keys to the users’ assets.
The hacker, later identified as a Munchables developer, did not demand any ransom for the return of the funds.
The hack occurred on March 26 at 9:30 pm UTC and led to the loss of over 17,400 ETH from the GameFi application. Munchables, together with blockchain security firms PeckShield and ZachXBT, quickly kicked off joint efforts to track the stolen funds in hopes of retrieval.
Pacman, the creator of the Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain Blast, on which Munchables is built, thanked ZachXBT warmly for their pivotal role in the recovery process. He confirmed that the ex-Munchables developer had decided to return all funds without any demands. Pacman has teamed up with the Munchables crew to make sure the funds get back to the right people.
