Cryptocurrency Platform to Hackers: Please Return $600M

Crypto heist at decentralized finance platform Poly Network may be largest ever
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 11, 2021 8:41 AM CDT
This Is One of the Biggest Cryptocurrency Thefts Ever
A selection of cryptocurrency coins are seen here.   (Getty Images/ALFSnaiper)

Hackers have stolen more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency in what is "likely to be one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts ever," reports CNBC. In a message to the hackers, Poly Network, a platform allowing users to transfer tokens between different blockchains, said "the amount of money you have hacked is one of the biggest in defi [decentralised finance] history." The platform said a preliminary investigation found hackers exploited a "vulnerability between contract calls" before transferring millions of dollars in digital tokens—a reported $267 million in Ether currency, $252 million worth of Binance coins, and $85 million in USDC tokens, per the BBC—out of the hands of "tens of thousands of crypto community members" and into separate cryptocurrency wallets.

Researchers at security company SlowMist said tokens were transferred to three addresses in what was "likely to be a long-planned, organized and prepared attack," per CNBC. They also claimed to have "grasped the attacker's mailbox, IP, and device fingerprints" and said they were "tracking possible identity clues." Poly Network urged the culprits to "establish communication and return the hacked assets" as "law enforcement in any country will regard this as a major economic crime and you will be pursued." It also called on exchanges to block deposits of tokens coming from the addresses. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the exchange was "coordinating with all our security partners to proactively help" and "we will do as much as we can" but "there are no guarantees." (More cryptocurrency stories.)

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