In the aftermath of the significant hack on December 16, where aging contracts on the NFT Trader platform were exploited, resulting in the theft of high-value NFTs like Bored Apes, Art Blocks, and World of Women, an unexpected hero emerged.

0xfoobar, also known as Foobar, the founder of Delegate, played a pivotal role in deciphering the faulty code that led to the exploitation. Teaming up with a talented 16-year-old coder known as Fade, they embarked on a time-sensitive mission to identify vulnerabilities within NFT Trader’s compromised contracts, contributing significantly to eliminating the exploits.

In an exclusive interview with Fade, the anonymous young developer sheds light on the events and provides insights into the extraordinary efforts that helped protect millions of dollars worth of digital assets.

Fade reveals his journey into coding and web3, driven by a curiosity to simplify tasks. Despite the challenges of balancing web3 with daily life as a 16-year-old, Fade actively keeps up with the space by following the right accounts. The sequence of events unfolded as Fade discovered the exploit through a tweet and witnessed the attacker stealing valuable NFTs. Intrigued by the ongoing attacks, Fade delved into the code, discovering the same vulnerability identified by Foobar.

Despite initial doubts, Fade’s correction proved accurate, contributing to Foobar’s development of a contract to stop malicious transactions. While Fade wasn’t directly involved in implementing the fix, his idea reached NFT Trader, leading to a swift resolution.

This incident marked Fade’s first time actively helping in the case of an exploit, though he had been monitoring various exploits and MEV happenings. The response to his contributions has been overwhelming, with a significant increase in followers, DMs expressing gratitude, and unexpected work offers. Inspired by the positive feedback, Fade aims to contribute more to open-source software and public goods in the future.

In terms of security measures, Fade advises users to leverage recent advancements, including Delegate, MetaMask Snaps, Rabby, and regular checks on Revoke for approvals. He emphasizes the importance of protocols investing in high-quality audits to enhance security and prevent future exploits. Fade’s insights highlight the collaborative and dynamic nature of the web3 community in responding to security challenges.