STEPN, the move-to-earn blockchain game, suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack during an “anti-cheating” update over the weekend, leading to network issues and user frustrations.
See related article: Move-to-earn app STEPN to limit service in China
Fast facts
- During the update, an attack of 25 million messages led to hours of server shutdowns, with some users misidentified as bots and kicked from the platform, according to a thread on STEPN’s official Twitter page.
- STEPN, which pays users for moving, said the update will help reduce the number of fraudulent users and spammers that were manipulating the in-game mechanics to earn crypto rewards.
- The company apologized for the inconveniences, announcing a “double energy event” to help users earn more and recover any temporary losses.
- STEPN hopes users will run back to the platform, as their Solana-based currency GST has slid more than 60% over the past month due to fears surrounding the play-to-win token model and their pull from the Chinese market.
- After hitting a weekly low on Saturday, STEPN has made a bit of a recovery in the past 24 hours, up more than 5%, at publishing time.
See related article: Solana suffers network slowdown, raising questions around proof of history