Curve Hacker Initiates Refund Process: $61M Stolen Funds Being Returned

A recent development in the cryptocurrency landscape has seen a significant portion of the Ether drained from Curve Finance’s pETH-ETH pool being returned by a miner extractable value (MEV) bot.

This event transpired following a message sent on the Ethereum blockchain by the bot’s address, aimed at proving its association with the frontrunning bot involved in the exploit.

The returned funds primarily pertain to the pETH-ETH Curve pool associated with the JPEG’d protocol, signifying a step towards potential resolution.

The MEV bot responsible for siphoning off 6,106 Ether from the Curve Finance pETH-ETH pool has taken a surprising turn by returning a substantial portion of the drained funds.

The returned Ether was directed back to the JPEG’d deployer, representing a significant portion of the initially exploited funds.

This unexpected act of restitution follows the bot’s attempt to establish its credibility through a message on the Ethereum blockchain, linking its email address to the frontrunning bot.

It’s important to note that the funds returned by the MEV bot exclusively pertain to the pETH-ETH Curve pool associated with the JPEG’d protocol, which was the focal point of the initial exploit.

While this marks a noteworthy development, other exploited funds remain under the control of the attacker who initiated the exploit.

This highlights the selective nature of the return, raising questions about the broader intentions and motivations behind this act of restitution.

In response to these events, the Curve Finance team has taken proactive steps. They have communicated directly with the original attacker in a bid to secure the return of the remaining funds.

While the outcome of these efforts remains uncertain, the willingness of both the MEV bot and Curve Finance to engage in dialogues reflects the evolving landscape of decentralized finance (DeFi) and its inherent challenges.