Crypto platform Poly Network rewards hacker with $500,000 ‘worm bounty’
© Reuters. Representations of the virtual forex stand on a motherboard on this characterize illustration taken Can also 20, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
By Alun John and Tom Westbrook
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Poly Network, the cryptocurrency platform which misplaced $610 million in a hack earlier this week, confirmed on Friday it had equipped the hacker or hackers a $500,000 “worm bounty”.
In an announcement it thanked the hacker – who it dubbed a “white hat”, sector jargon for an moral hacker who normally objectives to enlighten cyber vulnerabilities – who had returned the wide majority of the funds for “serving to us give a retract to Poly Network’s safety”.
The community additionally mentioned it hoped “Mr. White Hat” would contribute to the blockchain sector’s persisted vogue upon accepting the $500,000 reward, which it had equipped as segment of negotiations all the map through the return of the digital cash.
The assertion did now not specify the blueprint through which it pays the $500,000. It mentioned the hacker had answered to the offer nonetheless did now not remark if it modified into once accredited.
On Thursday digital messages shared on Twitter by Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founding father of crypto monitoring agency Elliptic, confirmed a particular person claiming to have perpetrated the hack had mentioned Poly Network equipped him the bounty to near lend a hand the stolen assets.
A lesser-identified name on this planet of crypto, Poly Network is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that facilitates possess-to-possess transactions with a highlight on allowing customers to switch or swap tokens all the map through assorted blockchains.
The as-but unidentified hacker or hackers appear to have exploited a vulnerability in the digital contracts Poly Network makes exercise of to switch assets between assorted blockchains, per blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.
In step with Friday’s assertion, the hacker has returned $340 million value of assets and transferred the wide majority of the comfort to a digital pockets jointly controlled by them and Poly Network.
The relaxation, held in tether, modified into once frozen by the cryptocurrency agency in the lend a hand of the stablecoin.
“After talking with Mr. White Hat, now we have additionally nearly a extra total working out referring to how the danger unfolded as successfully as Mr. White Hat’s long-established arrangement,” the assertion mentioned, without giving further details.
Poly Network announced the hack on Tuesday, nonetheless the following day mentioned the hackers had begun returning the digital cash they’d taken.
The hackers mentioned in digital messages shared by Elliptic that they’d perpetrated the assault for fun and that it modified into once repeatedly the plan to near lend a hand the tokens.
Some blockchain analysts have speculated alternatively they’ll additionally have learned it too sophisticated to launder stolen cryptocurrency on such a scale.
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