PolyNetwork Hack: Everything You Should Know About $610M Largest Defi Hack

The Defi cross-chain protocol Poly Network fell prey to the biggest crypto heist in history. August 10, Tuesday, hackers stole approximately $610 million worth of cryptocurrencies from Poly Network operating across the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon. The fortune was then transferred into three different wallet addresses on the respective blockchains.
O3 infiltration: the first step to the $610M hack
The panic began when hackers infiltrated O3, the largest cross-chain protocol. The hack was spotted when 03 announced it was struggling in processing $150 million worth of transactions. Following the initial fold of this legendary hack, Poly Network and O3 protocol suspended cross-chain functions.
Poly Network warned exchange services to block any transactions originating from hacked accounts. Poly Network also requested the hackers to return the stolen assets, while simultaneously threatening them with legal action.
$610M hack amount distributed into three wallet addresses
The hack summed up to be an enormous $610 million, with the amount being unevenly distributed into three blockchain addresses.
“A total of $610 million were stolen out of which $266,5 million were sent to an ETH address, $252 million were sent to a BSC address, and $85 million to Polygon address.”
A third of the $610M hack amount returned
However, soon after the attack, the hacker agreed to return the fund and publicly demanded a secure multi-sig wallet from the Poly Network. Additionally, the hacker reportedly asserted that the attack would have been in billions if the hacker decided to include “Shitcoins” in the stolen assets. Along with the slight threat to the authorities, portraying his potential, the hacker also questioned the capabilities of Poly Network’s protocol developers.
In the latest update, hackers returned over a third, i.e., $260 million of $610 million in stolen digital assets. Experts claim that the return came in lieu of convenience, as laundering stolen crypto on such a scale, is a bigger task than stealing it.
“Even if you can steal cryptoassets, laundering them and cashing out is extremely difficult, due to the transparency of the blockchain and the broad use of blockchain analytics by financial institutions,” Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, told Reuters.
Amid the chaos of this hack, Tether decided to freeze $33 million worth of USDT and warn the exchanges and miners to beware of the mentioned hacked accounts. However, Binance and Circle decided against freezing the transactions and were thoroughly criticized for the same.
PolyNetwork hackers exchanged stablecoins for DAI as soon as possible, indicating that he is not a white hat (subsequently, he may be pressured to repay). It also shows that the Ethereum chain is not as resistant to censorship as UTXOs such as BTC.
- ASTER to Launch Phase 2 Airdrop on October 10 as Open Interest Tops $5B in Two Weeks
- El Salvador’s Bitcoin Holdings Hit $475M Profit as BTC Becomes World’s 7th Largest Asset
- Breaking: Bitcoin Hits New ATH Above $125k as ‘Uptober’ Kicks Off in Full Force
- 99.3% of Bitcoin Supply in Profit, Analyst Warns of Short-Term Correction
- Pro-Crypto Mike Selig Emerges As CFTC Chair Frontrunner, Gains Ripple CLO’s Endorsement
- Dogecoin Price Rebounds 15% From Buy Zone as Whales Add 30M DOGE – Can Bulls Push Beyond $0.30?
- FLOKI Price Prediction as ETP Listing Drives Adoption—Is a 160% Rally Ahead?
- BNB Coin Price Hits ATH as Derivatives Activity Soars—Is $1,520 the Next Stop?
- Aster Price Eyes $3 After Channel Breakout as Open Interest Surges to $1.37B
- Will XRP Price Hit $5 if the SEC Approves ETFs This Month?
- Bitcoin Price Hits $120K Ahead of Q4 — Can Citigroup’s Forecast Hold Up?