The crypto industry has once again been hit by a significant theft, with another $46 million of stolen funds being shifted from the hacker’s wallet.
The Wormhole attack, which took place in February 2022, was one of the largest crypto hacks in recent times and resulted in the theft of $321 million worth of Wrapped ETH (wETH).
According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the hacker’s associated wallet has become active once again, with the transfer of 24,400 Lido Finance-wrapped Ethereum staking tokens (wstETH) worth approximately $41.4 million, and 3,000 Rocket Pool Ethereum staking tokens (rETH) worth about $5 million.
The hacker appears to be seeking yield or arbitrage opportunities on the stolen assets, as they were exchanged for 16.6 million DAI.
The MakerDAO stablecoin was then used to purchase 9,750 ETH and 1,000 stETH, which were then wrapped back into 9,700 wstETH.
At the time of the transfers, the price of stETH had depegged from Ethereum and climbed as high as $1,570. At the time of writing, it was trading 2.4% higher than ETH at $1,541, while wstETH had also depegged and risen to $1,676, 11.3% higher than the underlying asset.
The latest funds movement follows the hacker’s transfer of another $155 million worth of Ethereum to a decentralized exchange a few weeks prior.
On-chain sleuths observed that the hacker was “buying the dip” on Feb. 10, but the price of Ether has since fallen below those levels. At the time of writing, ETH was down 2.6% on the day at $1,505, according to CoinGecko.
The Wormhole hack highlights the importance of secure storage and handling of crypto assets. It’s crucial for crypto investors to educate themselves on the best security practices and take the necessary measures to protect their assets from theft and exploitation.
The crypto industry continues to evolve, and with it, the threat landscape. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and stay safe.
