Poly Network Hacker Shows Remorse Returns almost Half of the Stolen Coins

August 10 represented a bleak moment in crypto history after discovering that hackers had breached and carted over $600 million worth of tokens from multi-chain protocol Poly Network.

A few hours later, it became apparent that the hack attack could be salvageable and different from other infamous incidents. The hacker created a block where he stated his intention to return the stolen coins.

This message quickly resonated with the Poly Network team, which tried to produce an address for the hacker to return the coins. The hacker further requested a multi-sig address and initially returned about $5 million.

Since then, the hacker has slowly sent other amounts to the Poly Network team, and the total amount has totaled $260 million at the time of publication. As expected, the nature of the mysterious hacker has become the subject of interest within the crypto space with differing opinions.

Some claim that he could be a white hat hacker that found vulnerabilities in the Poly Network smart contract and has good intentions. It should be noted that white hat hackers typically probe online platforms for vulnerabilities that can be addressed. Other cyber analysts believe that the hacker was under pressure after the theft.

Several blockchain security companies could track the hacker’s IP address, and the initial exchange it began its attack. However, the hacker could have used dummy IP addresses, and it is unknown if his exact location can be successfully identified.

The hack on Poly Network is the highest-profile in the DeFi sector and reminds us of the risky nature of smart contracts and permissionless platforms.

Do you think the hacker will return the entire stolen loot?