Ethereum · Cointelegraph
Verus bridge exploiter returns $8.5 million after bounty offer
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The hacker behind the Verus bridge exploit returned 75% of the stolen funds as part of a recovery deal negotiated with the protocol days after the incident.
Key facts
- The attacker behind the Verus bridge exploit has returned 4,052 Ether, worth about $8.5 million, to the project's team wallet after Verus offered a 1,350 ETH bounty for the recovery of most
- The return represents about 75% of the stolen funds, with the exploiter retaining 1,350 Ether (ETH), worth about $2.8 million as a bounty, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield on Friday
- During the past decade, crypto hackers stole over $17 billion across 518 recorded incidents, with the majority stemming from compromised private keys, alongside phishing and other credential-based
- Verus had offered the bounty a day earlier, saying it would treat the retained ETH as a reward if the exploiter returned 4,052.4 ETH to the team address within 24 hours
Summary
The attacker behind the Verus bridge exploit has returned 4,052 Ether, worth about $8.5 million, to the project's team wallet after Verus offered a 1,350 ETH bounty for the recovery of most of the stolen funds. The return represents about 75% of the stolen funds, with the exploiter retaining 1,350 Ether (ETH), worth about $2.8 million as a bounty, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield on Friday. Verus had offered the bounty a day earlier, saying it would treat the retained ETH as a reward if the exploiter returned 4,052.4 ETH to the team address within 24 hours. The recovery shows how some crypto projects try to negotiate directly with exploiters to recover stolen funds, though such deals do not necessarily prevent law enforcement or third parties from taking action.