POLY NETWORK’S FAIRYTALE ENDING
Last year, in August 2021, the biggest cryptocurrency heist of all time was successfully pulled off by a hacker or group of hackers called “Mr White Hat”. These hackers stole a total of $610 million worth of crypto assets from a cryptocurrency exchange platform called Poly network. They achieved this by discovering a loophole in the company’s encryption which gave them access to transfer assets to their personal crypto wallets.
As much as it was the biggest hack in history, it was also one weirdest thefts to be recorded as well. It was reported that after several negotiations between the company and the hackers, the latter returned the stolen funds and was even offered a bounty price and a job in the same company after recovery of the funds. However, it was speculated that it was really because the hackers found it difficult to move around such a huge amount of assets discreetly without the blockchain recording their transactions.
Although many will see this as a happy ending, it was more of a lucky one because it could really have gone sideways. Many other exchange companies and cryptoholders who are hack victims, however, are not as lucky as poly network but do not fret. Thanks to crypto-hunters, recovery of lost or stolen assets is very much possible. They track down movements of stolen or lost bitcoin with the help of cryptocurrency exchange platforms and law enforcement agencies.