Poloniex Identifies Hackers, Announces $10M White Hat Reward for Stolen Funds

Poloniex has revealed the hacker responsible for the recent $120 million heist on the exchange, prompting a quick response from Poloniex’s primary shareholder, Justin Sun.

Sun took matters into his own hands, sending Ethereum blockchain messages directly to the addresses associated with the attack.

Sun initiated sixteen transactions, each bearing a message in several languages imploring the hacker to make amends, in an attempt to induce the return of the stolen monies.

Poloniex had effectively identified the hacker and promised a hefty white hat reward of $10 million if the cash were returned by November 25th, according to the blockchain messages.

The clear communication outlined the repercussions of non-compliance, stating that Poloniex had solicited the help of law enforcement authorities in China, Russia, and the United States to prosecute the hacker.

It went on to say that all stolen monies had been meticulously identified and labeled for tracking, ultimately rendering them unusable. Any financial counterparties found receiving these assets were informed that their accounts might be frozen.

To encourage collaboration, Poloniex first offered a white hat prize equal to 5% of the stolen funds. However, because the initial seven-day deadline passed without eliciting the appropriate reaction, the incentive was boosted to a whopping $10 million.

On November 10, the infamous Poloniex breach happened, resulting in the loss of $120 million in multiple cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRX), and Bitcoin (BTC).

Notably, these three digital assets accounted for 80% of the stolen monies, with 3.1 million XRP and a stunning 577 billion Shiba Inu (SHIB) also lost.

Following the breach, Poloniex told impacted users that it would compensate them for their losses and took urgent steps, including temporarily suspending withdrawals, to investigate the situation and improve security processes.

The exchange has declared that deposits and withdrawals will be resumed in the coming week, demonstrating its commitment to recovering from this severe security compromise.