A new development has emerged in the event that was dubbed as the biggest DeFi hack of 2023. The hacker who carried out the attack has started returning the stolen altcoin assets. Here are the details:
Euler hacker returned 3,000 ETH: Altcoin price jumps
Euler Finance lost $197 million to a hacker. However, it appears that the hacker may have had a change of heart. On March 18th, 3,000 ETH worth $5.4 million was returned from the hacker’s address to Euler Finance’s address. While this is a significant amount of money, it is important to note that not all of the stolen assets have been returned yet.
The hacker used multiple transactions to empty the funds and then used a multi-chain bridge to transfer the stolen funds from BNB Smart Chain to Ethereum. Shortly after Euler Finance announced that it would offer a $1 million reward to the hacker, the stolen funds were seen to have been moved to a crypto mixer called Tornado Cash.
Euler Finance, in an attempt to recover the funds, asked the hacker to return 90% of the stolen funds within 24 hours to avoid possible jail time. While the return of 3,000 ETH is a positive development, it is not yet clear whether the hacker will return all the assets. Immediately after the news broke, Euler’s EUL token saw a jump of nearly 100%. The cryptocurrency rose from $1.77 to $3.86. It is currently trading at $3.60.
DeFi hacks are becoming a growing concern in the cryptocurrency industry
this event highlights the need for tighter security measures. The response to the attack, including Euler Finance’s reward announcement and request for the return of stolen funds, shows that companies are taking these incidents seriously and are willing to take action to protect their customers’ funds. A recent discovery by Lookonchain revealed that the wallet address controlled by the Euler Finance hacker sent 100 ETH to a wallet used by the Lazarus Group to hack Ronin last year.
This move raised suspicions that the Lazarus Group may be behind the theft of protocol funds or may have some dark connections here. It is known that the Lazarus Group is accused of being behind the $625 million Ronin Bridge attack and the $100 million Horizon Bridge security incident in June by the US Department of Justice.
Euler Finance suffered a sudden credit attack on March 13th, resulting in losses of up to nine-figure sums. After the incident, Euler offered a $1 million reward as an incentive for the hacker to return the stolen funds. The hacker even returned 100 ETH to someone who claimed to be a victim of the attack and had lost 78 ETH.
