White hat hackers rescued $500,000 worth of NFTs this week after an exploit hit the Flooring marketplace. The theft was caught early, and the ethical team managed to recover the assets before they could be moved or sold. It's a rare bright spot in a month where the broader NFT market has cooled off.
The exploit on Flooring
On June 8, someone triggered a vulnerability inside Flooring's smart contracts. The attacker started pulling NFTs from user wallets. Details on how the exploit worked are still scarce — Flooring hasn't published a post-mortem yet. But within hours, a group of white hats jumped in.
White hats in action
The anonymous rescuers spotted the exploit early. They began sniping the stolen NFTs back as the attacker tried to flip them. In the end, they recovered about $500,000 in assets. It's not clear if the attacker managed to keep any of the haul, but the rescue kept the damage from climbing higher.
NFT market still cooling
The rescue comes as the NFT market's total cap has slipped since April, according to CoinGecko and NFT Price Floor data. Even with the downturn, the biggest collections still hold their value. CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club remain the top two by market cap, largely untroubled by the broader slump.
Flooring users are left wondering whether the platform will tighten security. For now, the white hats have returned the recovered NFTs. The exploit itself — and how deep the flaw ran — remains unexplained.
