Biggest DeFi Hack: Why Poly Network Hacker Returns $600M Tokens?

Cross-chain DeFi platform Poly Network was attacked, with the hacker draining about $600 million in Ethereum and other tokens. Unexpectedly, hackers are returning almost half of the funds they stole to “save the project”.

The assets stolen are $273 million of crypto tokens on Ethereum, $253 million in tokens on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and $85 million in USDC on Polygon Network (MATIC).

Since the hack, Tether has frozen $33 million in USDT stablecoin on Ethereum in the attack. That means they can no longer move the tokens.

There was a circulating rumour that the hacker had used the stolen funds to buy the CryptoPunk NFT #3100 — raising the concern of the money laundering problem of NFTs. The rumour was later confirmed fake.

Besides, the crypto community discovers that some of the hacker’s wallets have had many interactions with exchanges. That means hackers may have undergone KYC measures.

Later, hackers behind one of the biggest crypto heists have returned more than a third of $613 million in crypto. And, this move is to “save the project,” the hacker says in a message in one of the transactions. “Did I just save the project? Not so interested in money, now considering returning some tokens or just leaving them here.”

Poly Network Hacker Returning Funds: Save the Project?

The hack is “for fun” and their intention is to “expose the vulnerability”, according to one of the hackers. Also, the hacker claims to be a “legend” after pulling off the largest DeFi hack. “It’s already a legend to win so much fortune. It will be an eternal legend to save the world. I made the decision, no more DAO.”

DeFi platform Poly Network facilitates peer-to-peer crypto transactions across different blockchains, including Ethereum, BSC, and Polygon.

Poly Network was formed by an alliance between the teams behind multiple blockchain platforms: Chinese blockchain project Neo, Ontology, and Switcheo.

According to blockchain forensics company Chainalysis, the hack is due to an exploit on the Poly Network’s protocol. Poly Network uses smart contracts to move assets between different blockchains.

In scale, the hack is on par with huge breaches at exchanges such as Coincheck and Mt Gox. At $600 million, the loss exceeds the total $474 million loss in the entire DeFi sector from January to July.

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