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| More than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen |
More than $600 million was stolen in what could be one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history.
The hacker exploited a vulnerability in the Poly network, a platform that supposedly links different block chains so they can work together.
Poly Network announced the attack through its Twitter platform and asked to contact the hackers to urge them to return the pirated assets.
The blockchain is the record of activity on which many cryptocurrencies depend. Each digital currency has its own blockchain and they are different from each other.
The Poly network claims to be able to make these different blockchains work together.
Poly Network is a decentralized financial platform from DeFi, a broad term that includes blockchain-based financial applications. These applications do not seem to require intermediaries, hence the name decentralized.
At the time of this attack, losses from theft and fraud related to decentralized finance were reaching an all-time high. This increases the investment risk in the industry and regulators want to get rid of it.
More than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen
Proponents say it could make financial applications like credit more efficient and cheaper. In another tweet, Poly Network said the hacked crowd is the largest in the history of decentralized finance.
As soon as the hackers stole the funds, they started sending it to other cryptocurrency addresses. A total of more than $610 million worth of cryptocurrency has been sent to three different addresses, researchers at security firm SlowMist said.
In addition, Poly Network requires the platform to blacklist address tokens associated with hackers.
About $33 million worth of Tether tokens were frozen in the theft, according to stable sources.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Binance said that he was aware of the attack. Binance coordinates with all of its security partners to proactively provide support. But there is no guarantee.
"We are taking legal action and asking hackers to return their assets," the Polly Network said on Twitter. In addition, the researchers concluded that the robbery was a planned, organized and prepared long-term attack.
Decentralized finance has become the main target of the attacks. From the beginning of the year to July, the total amount of hacking attacks related to decentralized finance amounted to $361 million. This is almost three times what it was in 2020 as a whole.