Munchables, a leading game and farming protocol on the Blast Layer 2 network, has fallen victim to a massive $63 million hack, causing a stir within the web3 community.

The hack, which occurred yesterday, led to the theft of two-thirds of Munchables' total value locked (TVL), plummeting from $96.2 million to $34 million, as reported by DeFi Llama. The event has ignited discussions around the security measures of decentralized platforms and the potential need for centralized intervention in extreme cases.

Tracking the Exploit Web3 analyst ZachXBT identified the attacker's wallet, holding 17,412.65 Ether, through on-chain analysis. Solidity auditor 0xQuit revealed the exploit was made possible by a vulnerability in the protocol's lock contract, which was manipulated to allow the attacker to assign themselves an enormous Ether balance.

This sophisticated attack strategy has led to speculation around the attacker's origins, with some suggesting a North Korean developer could be responsible.

The Debate Over a Rollback The incident has sparked a debate over whether the Blast team should exercise its control over the network to reverse the malicious transaction.

While some argue that such a move would betray the decentralized ethos of blockchain, others see it as a necessary step to protect users and maintain trust in the platform. The potential rollback also raises concerns about the implications for third-party bridge operators and the precedent it would set for future incidents.

"Technically, the Blast team could recover the $62m lost in the Munchables exploit since they control the bridge contract that holds the bridged ETH/stETH," tweeted 0xCygaar.

Despite the controversy surrounding a potential rollback, many users express a desire for Blast to take action to return the stolen assets, highlighting the tension between the ideals of decentralization and the practical need for security and user protection.

Looking Forward The hack comes as a setback for Blast, which had seen significant growth and interest following its mainnet launch. With over $2 billion in TVL shortly after deployment, Blast positioned itself as a leading Layer 2 solution, despite criticisms over its launch campaign.

The incident underscores the challenges faced by the web3 sector in balancing innovation, security, and user trust.