Poloniex Hacker Identified: $10M Bounty Offered To Return Funds

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Justin Sun’s Poloniex has revealed that it has identified the perpetrators behind the 10th of November hack, which saw the exchange lose funds to the tune of $120 million. 

According to reports, Poloniex has offered the hacker a $10 million white hat reward to return the stolen funds by the 25th of November. 

Justin Sun Confirms Poloniex Hacker Identified 

Justin Sun, the majority shareholder in Poloniex, has confirmed that the Poloniex team has identified the hacker behind the hack that occurred on the 10th of November. According to Sun, law enforcement officials in China, the United States of America, and Russia are also involved in the ongoing operation. Sun also revealed that he had been using blockchain messages to communicate with the hacker and warned him that legal action had been initiated. The message from Sun to the hacker revealed that all the stolen funds were being tracked, effectively rendering them unusable. It also warned that any account receiving the stolen funds would be immediately frozen. 

Deadline To Return Funds 

Poloniex has given the attacker seven days to return the stolen funds voluntarily. Should the hacker return the funds, Sun stated they would receive $10 million as a white hat bug bounty. If the hacker failed to return the funds by the stipulated deadline, Poloniex warned they would feel the full force of legal action. 

“Return the stolen funds by the 25th of November, 2023, and we will offer a $10 million white hat reward. If not returned by that time, police forces from multiple countries will initiate legal action.”

The Poloniex hack resulted from a compromised hot wallet, which allowed the hacker to drain $120 million from the exchange. The hacker managed to steal several digital assets, including $3.1 million worth of XRP, $32 million worth of USDT, 244 ETH, and 86.5 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Additionally, the hacker also stole 35 different TRC-20 tokens. Following the hack, Poloniex assured users it would cover losses. The exchange also announced the temporary suspension of withdrawals and deposits. 

The Poloniex team stated that it had nearly completed restoring the operational functionality of the exchange. The team is currently undertaking a thorough audit, which is also nearly complete. Once the audit is completed, the exchange will begin regular operations once again. 

A Growing Headache 

The Poloniex hack is the second-largest hack to hit the crypto space in 2023. The only bigger hack was the Euler Finance hack that saw the perpetrator steal $190 million on the 13th of March. However, the hacker returned all the stolen funds within a month of the hack. 

Cryptocurrency exchanges have become a popular target of hackers. The recent HTX hack saw around $8 million worth of ETH being stolen from the exchange. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gdac also lost $13 million after falling victim to a hack in April. Deribit was also hacked, leading to the loss of $28 million. In the case of Poliniex, the hacker bought $20 million worth of TRX, which led to the token’s price increasing by over 25%. Following the hack, an analysis by blockchain analytics firm Nansen revealed that the Poloniex wallet contained only 175 tokens worth around $10,000.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.