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Here’s what we got for you today:

• Major NFT hack

• Pudgy World is here

• Launchpads are heating up

Let’s get started!

Major NFT Hack 😨

When markets tend to perform well, hackers will be back in a hurry. And that’s exactly what we saw the past few weeks. Despite going through many horrific exploits that cost tens of millions of dollars, we are still seeing the same things repeat.

First, we have the NFT Trader exploit that led to the loss of many top-tier NFTs including Bored Ape Yacht Club and World of Women. Some of these NFTs sold for millions in the previous bull market. This was a reentrancy exploit combined with the fact that these NFTs had some old approvals that were not revoked.

In total, 37 BAYC and 13 MAYC were stolen. But here’s where the plot thickens. The hacker who exploited and who picked up the NFTs were two different people. He contacted well-known on-chain sleuth ZachXBT and said he’s willing to return all NFTs for a small fee. The co-founder of Yuga Labs, Greg Solano, took it to X and said he will pay the ransom. 

In the end, the hacker returned all apes and got 120 ETH in return. Boring Security DAO handled everything for the holders and all NFTs are now secure. While this is a great outcome, it shows the many vulnerabilities of smart contracts. 

Besides this NFT hack, we also saw an even bigger threat with the Ledger Connect exploit. This caused an industry-wide panic because it was possible to get drained for using any application connected to Ledger. These incidents should serve as a reminder to always follow best self-custody practices.

Pudgy World Is Here 🐧

Pudgy Penguins, the adorable NFT-linked toys that became a sensation, are diving into a new adventure with the launch of Pudgy World Alpha in Q1 2024. This digital playground, powered by zkSync, merges the physical and digital worlds, offering a fun and open-world storytelling experience for millions.

Leading up to the public Alpha launch, Pudgy Penguins enthusiasts can test the experience, starting with the debut at the Pudgy Miami Art Basel event. The Alpha launch introduces a quest for Pudgy to reunite with Peaches, providing new ways for players to interact socially.

Pudgy World closes the loop between physical and digital products, making NFTs and blockchain accessible to the masses. The Pudgy Toy experience allows users to scan a QR code, create an account, redeem traits, and customize their Forever Pudgy Penguin. 

This immersive experience extends beyond NFT holders and toy owners, welcoming newcomers to the interactive digital playground. The introduction of new characters, Pudgy & Peaches, enhances the storytelling and brand immersion. Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz envisions Pudgy World as the next level of fandom interaction, offering both narrative-driven and open-ended gameplay options.

Launchpads Are Heating Up 🔥

Getting in early is where the maximum reward lies. One of the best ways to position yourself to be early is through a launchpad. These are platforms that support projects that raise public funding. They do that by giving allocations to the token holders of the platform.

Based on the tokens you hold, the size of your allocation varies. These launchpads have helped investors pull astronomical returns in both bull and bear cycles. However, it’s important to remember that many Initial Game Offerings or IGOs go bust.

So it’s important to check the listings and select the right project. If you want to start looking, Seedify seems to be the go-to place. There are over eight IGOs going live soon.

The best way to check the legitimacy of these offerings would be to check the background of the team and how far along the game along. As these are early investments, you have to consider the risk involved and only invest the amount you can afford to lose.

• Trikon prize distribution has been revealed with the latest leaderboard rankings. Two more weeks remain till we announce the final winners. 

• We hosted Twitter Spaces on the topic “Tokenization of Web3 Assets” with Shalini from Stader labs.

• Overworld sold out their Incarna NFT collection and floor price now stands at 1.5 ETH. 

• Pudgy Penguins released a teaser for Pudgy World that is going to release in Q1 2024. 

• The Sandbox introduced a marketplace on Polygon with updated UI/UX and low minting fees. 

• Portal’s pre-sale is went live which was open to everyone with max purchase per block at 2E. 

• Delabs released a new teaser for their survival game Space Frontier which is now in its first playtest. 

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