Hacker behind biggest ever DeFi attack returns $342m – CityAM : CityAM
The hacker who stole $600m of assets from the Poly Network earlier this week has returned the majority of the money after sharing a bizarre self-interview.
Poly Network has confirmed that $342 of the stolen millions have been returned to them as of today. $4.6m was sent as Ethereum, $252m was sent as BSC and a further $85m was sent as Polygon.
The remaining $268m of missing Ethereum is also gradually being returned to the Poly Network according to a social media post.
The hacker shared a Q&A session with themselves to the blockchain explaining their actions.
They said that they had hacked the network “for fun” before defending the attack: “Ask yourself what to do had you facing so much fortune. Asking the project team politely so that they can fix it? Anyone could be the traitor given one billion!”
The hacker reiterated their commitment to return the money and urged the Poly Network to improve the security of their protocol saying that they would be happy to “give them tips.”
“I am not very interested in money! I know it hurts when people are attacked, but shouldn’t they learn something from those hacks?” The hacker added.
The hack laid bare the vulnerabilities in the DeFi sector which has been attracting runaway investment despite a lack of widespread regulation. There is $80.25bn of value locked in DeFi smart contracts representing a 406 per cent increase since the start of the year.
Mary Beth Buchanan, Chief Legal Officer for blockchain analytics company Merkle Science, said the hack should be a wake up call for regulators and highlighted the need for “law enforcement agencies to quickly upskill on DeFi — how it’s being used and the risks individuals may be exposed to.”
Read more: More than $600m lost in worst ever DeFi hack