Blockchain tokenization platform Holograph’s native token plummeted nearly 80% after a malicious actor hacked the protocol’s operator contract and minted 1 billion HLG tokens worth $14.4 million. Holograph’s official X account confirmed the hack on June 14. The account has since stated that they have rectified the initial attack and are working with cryptocurrency exchange partners to freeze the attacker’s accounts.
Holograph Team Quickly Responds
Holograph team announced that they have initiated an internal investigation into the attack and contacted law enforcement. According to Etherscan data, the hacker minted 1 billion HLG tokens in nine different transactions by exploiting a smart contract vulnerability; the first minting occurred on June 13 at 12:47 PM. Seven of these transactions were sent in batches of 100 million.
It took only 10 minutes for the HLG price to start falling. Within nine hours, the token dropped 79.4% from $0.014 to $0.0029. According to CoinGecko data, HLG’s market value fell from approximately $22 million to $4.8 million during this period. The HLG price slightly recovered after the attack, rising to $0.008.
1 billion HLG tokens are currently worth $7.4 million, but the hacker began converting the minted HLG tokens into the stablecoin Tether about four hours after the initial attack.
Noteworthy Details
Matt Casto, a cryptocurrency researcher at venture capital firm CMT Digital, believes the hacker is a malicious developer who funded Holograph’s operator contract address 26 days ago. Holograph has not yet responded on whether they know the hacker’s identity.
Holograph is based on the Omnichain ecosystem and allows tokens to move between blockchain networks while maintaining the same contract address, enabling asset issuers to index cross-chain data. Holograph has received venture capital funding from companies like Animoca Brands and Mechanism Capital.
According to a recent Crystal Intelligence report, approximately $19 billion worth of crypto assets have been stolen since the first industry hack was reported in June 2011.
