Summary
SuperRare is a curated Ethereum-based NFT art marketplace founded in 2018 by John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins, operating as a high-end platform for 1-of-1 digital artworks with its own governance token RARE. On July 28, 2025, a critical access control vulnerability in the platform's RareStakingV1 staking contract was exploited, resulting in the theft of approximately 11.9 million RARE tokens worth roughly $731,000. SuperRare subsequently reimbursed the 61 affected wallets by August 5, 2025, and the RARE token recovered approximately 41% following the remediation announcement.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 1 more
Timeline(11 events)
2017-01-01
John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins begin building SuperRare in Brooklyn, working initially without external investment.
2018-01-01
SuperRare officially launches as a curated Ethereum-based NFT art marketplace.
2021-03-01
SuperRare raises $9 million Series A led by Velvet Sea Ventures and 1confirmation, with participation from Mark Cuban, Chamath Palihapitiya, Ashton Kutcher, Marc Benioff, Samsung Next, and BlockTower Capital.
2021-08-01
SuperRare announces the RARE governance token and the SuperRare DAO, transitioning toward decentralized community governance of the platform.
2021-10-11
RARE token reaches its all-time high price of approximately $3.79 per token, coinciding with the peak of the broader NFT market.
2022-05-12
RARE token hits an all-time low of approximately $0.1365, reflecting the broader crypto and NFT market downturn.
2023-01-01
SuperRare launches the Rare Protocol, further decentralizing curatorial authority to RARE token holders through community-governed Spaces.
2025-01-22
The eventual exploit attacker funds their wallet via Tornado Cash approximately 186 days before the July 2025 attack, indicating premeditated planning.
2025-07-28
SuperRare's RareStakingV1 contract (0xfFB512B9176D527C5D32189c3e310Ed4aB2Bb9eC) is exploited via a broken access control vulnerability in the updateMerkleRoot() function. A frontrunner intercepts the exploit, stealing approximately 11.9 million RARE tokens (~$731,000). RARE token price drops approximately 12%. Security firms Cyvers Alerts, PeckShield, and Blockaid publicly flag the incident.
2025-07-29
SuperRare freezes affected accounts, engages cybersecurity firms and third-party auditors, and mandates re-audits for all post-audit code modifications.
2025-08-05
SuperRare announces full reimbursement of 61 affected wallets. RARE token surges approximately 41% on the news; derivatives trading volume doubles.
Decision Log
- hash: 8gePJwZfRh4znUfrV9U6DtvUhY122fNpNTK2GNCYofGi
- hash: 9x1oBFh3r5MhbAXHzuDEz4dD7CE98HMHjyj52EvaeZdf
- hash: CAHrSs2LSka1p5KLX1hArPEt2RdmcX6V6KiQijWnn7hU
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:22 AM
last updated: 6/9/2026, 10:53:27 PM
avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world