Following an Unfortunately, last week, the cryptocurrency community was rocked by news of yet another hack. This time, the target was Crema Finance, a Solana-based concentrated liquidity protocol. The attack resulted in the loss of nearly $9 million worth of crypto funds. However, in a turn of events, the hackers have agreed to return the stolen funds after a successful negotiation deal. According to Crema Finance, the hackers will receive 45,455 SOL as a white hat bounty. The remaining stolen funds, totaling 6064 ETH and 23,967.9 SOL, have already been returned in four transactions. A follow-up compensation plan is expected to be released within the next 48 hours. While it is always unfortunate when hacks occur, it is good to see that in this instance, negotiations were able to result in a positive outcome for all parties involved.
Crema Finance has confirmed the receipt of 6,064 ETH and 23,967.9 SOL into the protocol’s Solana and Ethereum wallets in four transactions. The returned funds amounted to $7.6 million at the current price. The team had earlier said that it would involve police and legal authorities should the perpetrator refuse its bounty reward of $800,000. The hacker then responded by saying, “Crema team, since you are trying to reach me to negotiate, let’s chat.” The attacker, however, swooped in with negotiation of a much bigger bounty of around $1.7 million. The latest development means Crema Finance wouldn’t be taking legal action against them. The liquidity protocol will release a follow-up compensation plan in the next 48 hours.
DeFi heists have become a common affair, but it’s not always that stories of a twist in the tale emerge where the perpetrator does not run off with the haul. In a similar bizarre incident, Poly Network’s attacker returned nearly all of the money. A year ago, the hacker behind the biggest cryptocurrency heist of all time granted the DeFi platform access to the final tranche of stolen funds. This was after paying back what was originally taken, plus interest. At press time, there was no information to suggest that any foul play was involved in the return of the funds. Nevertheless, it serves as a reminder that even in the world of decentralized finance, centralized entities still play an important role.
The findings of the report reveal that a total of $670,698,280 worth of crypto was lost during the second quarter of this year, which is an increase of 52% from $440,021,559 in Q2 2021. Out of this total, 97% – or $650 million – can be attributed to hacks. This is a major concern for the crypto community, as it highlights the vulnerability of digital assets to malicious actors. The report also found that phishing attacks were responsible for $5.8 million worth of losses in Q2, while viruses and Trojans accounted for $9.4 million. These numbers underscore the need for greater security measures in the crypto space, as well as greater awareness among users about how to protect their digital assets.
A recent report from Cipher Trace has shed light on the growing trend of black hat hacking activity in the cryptocurrency space. According to the report, almost $1 billion worth of crypto has been stolen by black hat hackers so far this year – with the majority of these funds coming from high-profile hacks of major exchanges and protocols. The report also said that blackhead hackers are now primarily targeting and exploiting DeFi protocols – with 49 out of 50 instances involving DeFi protocols. These findings underscore the need for greater security in the crypto space – both at the protocol level and at the exchange level. As the industry continues to grow and attract more mainstream attention, it is vital that we take steps to protect ourselves from these increasingly sophisticated attacks.
