Unleash Protocol, an intellectual property financing platform built on the Story ecosystem, lost approximately $3.9 million due to a security breach, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.
The attacker linked the stolen assets to Ethereum and deposited 1,337.1 ether. in Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service commonly used to obfuscate transaction histories, according to PeckShield.
Unleash had reported the breach earlier, without giving a figure on the amount.
“Earlier today, we detected unauthorized activity involving Unleash Protocol smart contracts, which led to the withdrawal and transfer of user funds,” the platform said in a post on
Affected assets include WIP, USDC, WETH, stIP and VIP, the protocol says. After withdrawals, funds were bridged through third-party infrastructure and transferred to external addresses.
Platforms like Unleash aim to put intellectual property rights, such as media, brands and creative works, on-chain, allowing them to be tokenized, licensed or used as financial primitives in decentralized applications.
Unleash and on-chain analytics firm LookonChain said the exploit appeared to stem from a governance failure at Unleash, rather than a vulnerability in the Story protocol itself.
Unleash said it has suspended all operations while the investigation continues and is working with independent security experts and forensic investigators to determine the root cause. Users are advised not to interact with Unleash Protocol contracts until further notice and follow official channels for updates.
