Poly Network Suffers Record $612 Million DeFi Heist Before Attacker Returns Funds
An unidentified attacker exploits Poly Network's smart contracts to steal $612 million in various cryptocurrencies, marking the largest DeFi theft to date. In a surprising turn of events, the hacker begins returning the massive stolen funds just one day later.
An unidentified attacker exploits a vulnerability in Poly Network's smart contracts to steal $612 million worth of cryptocurrency, making this the largest DeFi heist in history. The hacker targets the cross-chain protocol and quickly moves the stolen assets, which include ETH, USDC, DAI, and various other tokens, into three separate cryptocurrency wallets on different blockchains.
Chainalysis data reveals that the attacker withdraws a small amount of ETH just before the heist to cover gas fees and actively interacts with other users to gather critical information. In an effort to avoid having the stolen assets frozen, the hacker swaps $96 million in USDC for DAI through the Curve DeFi protocol to convert centralized stablecoins into decentralized ones.
In a stunning and unexpected twist, the attacker starts returning the stolen funds to Poly Network less than 24 hours after the initial theft. While the exact motive remains unclear, blockchain analysts continue to track the three known attacker addresses to monitor the ongoing return of the record-breaking cryptocurrency haul.