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Crypto Platform Gets Robbed, Pens Open Letter Asking Hacker To Return $600M
By Alexa Heah, 11 Aug 2021
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Image via ID 183384995 © Dušan Zidar | Dreamstime.com
A decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, Poly Network, penned an open letter on social media pleading hackers to return approximately US$600 million worth of cryptocurrency, which the firm said had been stolen.
The platform said the theft had consisted of wrapped bitcoin and wrapped ether, among other cryptocurrencies, making this the largest-ever heist in cryptocurrency history.
“Dear Hacker, We are the Poly Network team,” started the letter, which was published on Twitter. “The amount of money you hacked is the biggest one in defi history. Law enforcement in any country will regard this as a major economic crime and you will be pursued. It is unwise for you to do any further transactions. The money you stole are from tens of thousands of crypto community members, hence the people. You should talk to us to work out a solution.”
According to Mashable, the Poly Network allows different blockchains to communicate with one another, which is why the hack was able to take place across three different platforms: Binance Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon.
Expectedly, this massive hack has called into question the security of the DeFi space. Poly Network said after a preliminary investigation, the cause of the vulnerability was “between contract cells, [the] exploit was not caused by the single keeper as rumored.”
Many players in cryptocurrency responded following the incident, locking down some of the stolen funds. The CTO of Tether, another cryptocurrency, said he froze nearly US$33 million worth of Tether after learning about the hack.
Poly Network has yet to respond about the hack or if the hacker did get in touch or return the cryptocurrency. Chances are, the users who were hacked will never see their coins again, with this heist sparking a new wave of skepticism towards DeFi in general.
— Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) August 10, 2021
[via Mashable, cover image via ID 183384995 © Dušan Zidar | Dreamstime.com]
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