Tsotchke's developers have reacted as any reputable scientists would to those questioning their lofty claims: "Disrespect me again and you're gone", threatened someone in charge of the project's Twitter account.
Tsotchke "quantum-enhanced AI" crypto project appears to be based on lies
UniLend exploited for almost $200,000
UniLend acknowledged the hack, downplaying it as affecting "only" 4% of the platform's $4.7 million TVL. They offered a bounty to the attacker.
Bittensor wallets drained
Bittensor is among the artificial intelligence-focused cryptocurrency projects that have become popular recently amid the AI hype. Although the project website boasts that "Bittensor is creating a new future for humanity, where new economies and new commodities are decentralized by design and where no single entity is a sole authority," the group unilaterally halted the chain in the wake of the attack.
- "Bittensor Community Update — July 3, 2024", Opentensor Foundation [archive]
GNUS.ai exploited for $1.27 million
GNUS.ai (short for "Genius", not a reference to the animal) is one of many AI-related blockchain projects that has sprung out of the recent AI hype. This particular one promises to allow people to "utiliz[e] unused cycles" on various computing devices for computation-intensive AI systems, using cryptocurrency for payments.
Wilder World game suffers $1.8 million theft, blames contractor
The project blamed the theft on a previous contractor who had the private key. They also explained that the attacker seemed to be a developer based on the fact that they had "specialized knowledge of ZERO's internal security systems".
NFPrompt discloses hack
The platform announced on March 15 that it had suffered a "critical security incident" that it attributed to "a group of hackers" who were able to gain access to funds belonging both to the project's users and the project itself. They did not disclose how much was taken.
The project announced that it was working with the FBI, and had contacted centralized exchanges to ask them to freeze stolen funds.
Mozaic exploited for $2 million, recovers 90%
According to MozaicFi, the theft had been perpetrated by a rogue developer who was able to gain access to a private key held by a core team member. They also claimed that a simultaneous large sale of the Mozaic token resulted in cascading liquidations.
In good news for the project, the attacker moved around 90% of the stolen funds to MEXC, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange that was able to freeze the thief's access to the funds.
"The AI Protocol" burns tokens after holder suffers $4.3 million theft
Blockchain sleuth zachxbt was able to coordinate with the project to organize a community governance vote to burn the stolen tokens before the attacker was able to cash out. Although this doesn't return the stolen funds to their original owner, it at least keeps the attacker from profiting.
Megabot exit scams for almost $750,000
Megabot had advertised itself as an AI trading bot that would earn users "up to 30% monthly". The team had promised that the bot would perform trades while "sidestepping potential risks such as honeypots, rugs, and slow rugs".
"No one will be able to rug you anymore", their website boasted. Ah, well.
Fraudsters steal more than $25 million in "AI-powered" crypto ponzi
In addition to pulling off the original scam, the fraudsters also came up with a fake investigative agency called the "Federal Crypto Reserve", where they directed victims who were seeking to recover their losses.
The scammers were charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice, which carry hefty maximum prison terms.
- "Two Men Charged for Operating $25M Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme", Department of Justice press release [archive]