Poly Network Hack Drains $600 Million in Major Crypto Exploit
A cross-chain DeFi platform suffers a massive security breach as an attacker steals hundreds of millions in various cryptocurrencies.
Cross-chain decentralized finance platform Poly Network experiences a massive cyberattack as an alleged hacker drains approximately $600 million in cryptocurrency. The attacker targets the protocol across three major blockchains, specifically Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon. Security analysts note that this staggering sum ranks the event among the largest crypto hacks in history.
The stolen assets include a variety of digital tokens such as USDC, wrapped bitcoin, wrapped ether, and shiba inu (SHIB). In response to the breach, the Poly Network team publicly identifies the hacker's addresses and urges crypto exchanges and blockchain miners to blacklist the stolen funds. Stablecoin issuer Tether takes immediate action by freezing roughly $33 million of the illicitly obtained USDT.
Blockchain records show the hacker quickly attempts to move the stolen assets through liquidity pools like Curve.fi, though at least one transaction faces rejection. Meanwhile, nearly $100 million from the Binance Smart Chain address flows into the Ellipsis Finance liquidity pool before the Poly team issues a statement. Blockchain security firm BlockSec begins an initial analysis to determine the exact mechanics of the exploit.