Gala Games has successfully retrieved approximately $22 million in Ethereum from an individual involved in a security breach that occurred on May 20. The incident saw $200 million worth of Gala tokens minted, and a fraction of them sold before the wallet was frozen. By May 21, the attacker returned 5913.2 Ethereum, an amount nearly matching the market value of the 600 million GALA tokens sold prior.
What is Happening at Gala?
In a blog post dated May 21, the Gala team credited their swift and effective response alongside federal law enforcement’s involvement for the Ethereum’s return. They employed a new GalaChain block list protocol feature to freeze 4.4 billion out of the 5 billion GALA tokens minted within 45 minutes.
Gala’s co-founder and CEO, Eric Schiermeyer, revealed in a social media post on May 20 that the identity of the alleged attacker had been discovered. While Gala Games has not officially confirmed the identity or the method used for the exploit, some community members speculate that a security contractor caused the breach by connecting to the wallet without a VPN.
Notable Statements from the Gala Team
Schiermeyer indicated in a Discord post that the team is likely to use the recovered Ethereum to repurchase and burn an equivalent amount of GALA tokens. “I don’t see anything else we need to do with the Ethereum. We will probably buy and burn through Galaswap,” he said.
Additionally, Gala Games mentioned that a governance vote is being held to decide if the frozen 4.4 billion GALA tokens should be considered burned. This came after DWF Labs announced they had acquired 28 million GALA tokens on the open market to stabilize the token‘s value. According to CoinGecko, GALA’s value increased to $0.043, showing a 0.4% rise in 24 hours and a 9.3% growth over the past week.
Key Takeaways for Users
– Gala Games effectively froze nearly 90% of the newly minted GALA tokens within 45 minutes.
– The identity of the attacker was quickly identified, and federal law enforcement was involved.
– A governance vote is underway to decide the fate of the frozen tokens, possibly leading to their burn.
– DWF Labs’ market intervention plays a crucial role in stabilizing GALA’s value.
The swift recovery and strategic responses highlight Gala Games’ robust security measures and proactive approach to protecting its community and assets.