Poly Network: World’s biggest cryptocurrency hack sees $827 million stolen

Hackers have pulled off the world’s biggest cryptocurrency theft – but in an unusual move they’ve returned over of a third of the money.

Hackers have made off with more than $US6010 million ($A827 million) in various cryptocurrencies, likely the largest heist ever in the industry’s history.

The hackers targeted Poly Network, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform that enables people to swap cryptocurrency tokens across different blockchains, the technology that underpins the digital coins.

The theft affects tens of thousands of people, Poly Network said in a letter that was posted on Twitter and addressed to the anonymous hackers.

“The amount of money you hacked is the biggest one in the DeFi history,” the letter reads. “Law enforcement in any country will regard this as a major economic crime and you will be pursued.”

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After the initial hack, they allegedly sent their crypto haul to various digital wallet addresses in an effort to cover their trail. Picture: The Daily Telegraph

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But in an unusual turn of events, the hackers appear to have returned some of the stolen funds, Poly Network said.

It revealed $US260 million ($A353 million) had been returned, according to a tweet from Poly Network.

A person claiming to be the hacker said they just did it for “for fun” and to expose vulnerabilities and planned to return all the money.

After the initial theft, the hackers allegedly sent their crypto haul to various digital wallet addresses in an effort to cover their trail.

Researchers at blockchain security firm SlowMist said they have “grasped the attacker’s mailbox, IP, and device fingerprints … and is tracking possible identity clues related to the Poly Network attacker”.

pic.twitter.com/Yzw4oDenjC

— Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) August 10, 2021

The chief technology officer of Tether, the issuer of a kind of digital currency known as a stablecoin, said on Twitter that the company had frozen $US33 million ($A45 million) worth of the coin that it believes is connected with the hack.

And Changpeng Zhao, CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said he was aware of the attack and that his company is “co-ordinating with all our security partners to proactively help”.

“There are no guarantees,” he said.

Decentralised Finance, or DeFi, has become increasingly popular in recent years as cryptocurrencies have gained momentum.

We are aware of the https://t.co/IgGJ0598Q0 exploit that occurred today. While no one controls BSC (or ETH), we are coordinating with all our security partners to proactively help. There are no guarantees. We will do as much as we can. Stay #SAFU. 🙏 https://t.co/TG0dKPapQT

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 10, 2021

The term refers to peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platforms that allow transactions without traditional financial gatekeepers like banks and stock exchanges.

That lax oversight is both a key appeal of the industry for those wary of institutional surveillance and also what emboldens cyber criminals to increasingly target the space.

In the first half of 2021, crypto thefts totalled $US361 million ($A489 million), a nearly three-fold increase compared with the entirety of 2020, according to data from cryptocurrency compliance company CipherTrace.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission