DeFi Platform Sends Users $90M By Mistake, Then Threatens To Dox Them
Image via Compound
Several users of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Compound woke up to find themselves cryptocurrency millionaires, in a gaffe of epic proportions. The company had mistakenly given out US$90 million (280,000 COMP), following a bugged update to the server.
One user even took to social media to share his overnight windfall amounting to US$20 million, with another receiving nearly US$29 million as well. If you’re familiar with blockchain, unlike traditional banks, transactions are impossible to reverse, so Compound couldn’t undo its incredible mistake.
Compound’s CEO Robert Leshner appealed to the lucky users on Twitter, asking them to return the cryptocurrency voluntarily, and said they’d be allowed to keep 10% of the total amount. However, if they choose not to, he said the users would be doxxed, with their new “income” reported to the IRS to be taxed.
According to Mashable, the claims seem to be an empty threat. Users would have to declare their cryptocurrency earnings to the IRS regardless of how much they make, and as for being doxxed, a report by CoinDesk showed the site doesn’t even collect user information.
Upon speaking to Leshner, he told CoinDesk that this situation was a “moral dilemma” for users. However, many in the community disagree, saying what’s been done should be accepted. They quote a popular adage among cryptocurrency enthusiasts: “code is law.”
As of now, it seems only two users have returned the money to Compound, amounting to US$12 million in total. There’s still US$78 million out there—and if Leshner keeps up his hostile tweets, chances are he won’t be getting much of it back.
If you received a large, incorrect amount of COMP from the Compound protocol error:
— Robert Leshner (@rleshner) October 1, 2021
Please return it to the Compound Timelock (0x6d903f6003cca6255D85CcA4D3B5E5146dC33925). Keep 10% as a white-hat.
Otherwise, it's being reported as income to the IRS, and most of you are doxxed.
[via Mashable, cover image via Compound]
Also check out these recent news
