White Hat Bot Foils $5.5 Million ETH Curve Protocol Heist

• Hacker’s bold attempt: 2800 ETH heist intercepted.
• MEV bot vs. hacker: Blockchain battle unfolds.
• White-hat hacker’s triumph: Foiling a $5.5M ETH theft.

A hacker attempted to exploit the Curve protocol with the intention of stealing 2800 ETH, valued at $5.5 million. However, their efforts were intercepted.

Identifying a vulnerability in the Curve protocol, the hacker initiated a transaction to acquire the substantial sum. Unbeknownst to them, a MEV (Miner Extractable Value) bot operated by the white-hat hacker, coffeebabe.eth, was monitoring the situation.

For those unfamiliar, a MEV bot is software that scans the blockchain for lucrative transactions. By ‘frontrunning’ these transactions with higher gas fees, the bot ensures its own transaction gets processed first.

White hat bot strikes back

In this turn of events, the MEV bot identified the hacker’s transaction and took swift action. It copied the transaction, substituted the hacker’s address with its own, and increased the gas fee. Consequently, the bot’s transaction was processed ahead of the hacker’s, securing the 2800 ETH.

While this occurrence may sound concerning, it is a well-known phenomenon in the Ethereum ecosystem. The public nature of blockchain transactions allows anyone to copy a transaction and replace the recipient’s address, prioritizing their transaction by paying a higher fee. This dynamic has notable implications, particularly for hackers who must consider the risk of being outpaced.

The operator of the MEV bot, coffeebabe.eth, is a white-hat hacker with a focus on cybersecurity and ethical hacking. Upon receiving the stolen ETH, they promptly returned the funds to Curve, thwarting the hacker’s plans and maintaining the integrity of the system.