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- PolyNetworm attackers have returned $258 million worth of stolen funds
- The hackers just wanted to confirm that the DeFi protocol is vulnerable
- Many claimed that the hackers were unable to cash out as its a tedious task
PolyNetwork, a DeFi protocol, has suffered a massive attack, where hackers stole more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrencies. DeFi hacks are soaring, which makes individuals sceptical before entering the world. Experts in the cryptosphere claim that the decentralized finance industry has the potential to remove our mainstream banks. However, the same decentralized nature of the industry makes it highly risky for investors. Surprisingly, the hackers have returned $258 million worth of digital assets to the platform.
PolyNetwork hackers return some stolen funds
PolyNetwork hackers have stolen a large number of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Binance Coin (BNB). Following the network’s appeal, the malicious actors claimed that they are not very much interested in money. Hence, they will return the stolen funds. The protocol reportedly announced that it recovered $258 million worth of digital assets from the illicit actors on the same day. However, $353 million worth of funds were still pending.
Did the hackers intend to return the funds?
Following the hack, PolyNetwork began to appeal and negotiate with the hackers. It is interesting to observe that while the protocol was negotiating, one of the hackers released a three-page ask me anything session. Following the scenario, many deemed that it seems that malicious actors were always willing to return the stolen funds.
Furthermore, the malicious actors clarified that the attack was conducted just to warn PolyNetwork. Indeed, they just wanted to show that the protocol is vulnerable, which should be fixed before others could exploit it.
In an embedded Ethereum message, the hackers mentioned that they understand how it hurts when individuals are attacked. However, it is significant to learn something from such hacks.
Why did the hackers target the protocol?
Following the attack, the malicious actors were asked why they targeted PolyNetwork. Notably, according to the hackers, cross-chain hacking is hot. Hence they attacked the protocol just for fun. However, the hackers maintained the attack for a good cause, and they have no intention to create a real panic in the cryptosphere.
Was the hack well-intentioned?
Many in the cryptosphere claimed that it does not seem that the attack on PolyNetwork was well-intentioned. Tom Robinson, the co-founder of Eliptic, explained that it feels like the funds are returned as laundering on such a massive scale is a headache on the chain.
Tom further stated that even if someone hacks cryptos, laundering and cashing out is a tedious task. Hence, Robinson believes that due to transparency, the hackers would have understood that the stolen funds could be traced, and so they returned.
