Hacker Returns Cryptocurrency After Stealing $600 Million In Assets

Funds from one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks to date is now being returned just days later.

Poly Network, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, was hacked on August 10th which allowed attackers to transfer Binance Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon forms of crypto to their wallets. Cryptocurrencies are a type of virtual currency that uses blockchain technology in order to increase security.

The value of digital currency stolen in this incident was estimated to be around $611 million, making it one of the biggest DeFi hacks to date. The estimated amounts stolen are detailed below:

• Etherium- $273 million
• Binance Smart Chain- $253 million
• Polygon Network (in USDC)- $85 million

As of yesterday, Poly Network reported that the hacker in question returned around $260 million worth of assets, mostly in Binance Smart Chain tokens. While the threat actor initially explained their motivation for the hack, they have yet to reveal any motive behind returning the stolen tokens.

It’s speculated that the return was prompted by SlowMist, a blockchain security firm. The firm claims to have traced the attacker’s IP address, email address and device fingerprints, which may have led to this decision. There remains $269 million Ethereum and $84 million Polygon assets that have yet to be accounted for in the return.

While data breaches and hacking occurs daily, you can minimize your risk by maintaining cybersecurity best practices.