Exploiter Returns 90% of “Recoverable Funds” to Euler Finance

  • The remaining $31 million worth of crypto assets were returned late on Monday, marking a successful end to Euler Finance’s recovery efforts.
  • The total value of assets returned is a little over $177 million, which is 90% of the “recoverable funds” after adjusting for the 10% bounty previously offered.
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The person behind the $200 million exploit of decentralized lending platform Euler Finance has returned the last “recoverable funds” 23 days after they were stolen, the project said via Twitter on 4 April.

According to on-chain data, the attacker returned the remaining sum of $31 million — which was comprised of 10,580 ETH ($19 million) and $12 Million in DAI — over three separate transactions late on Monday. With these final transactions, the total value of assets returned by the attacker are a little over $177 million, which is 90% of the expected recoverable funds when considering the 10% bounty offered by Euler Finance.

The move marks a rare positive ending in the DeFi space, where large-scale exploits have become a common occurrence. Euler’s troubles began on 13 March, when an attacker carried out multiple transactions leveraging flash loans to steal around $197 million worth of crypto assets. The platform quickly offered the attacker a 10% bounty if he was willing to return the assets, and warned it would initiate a $1 million reward for any information that might lead to his arrest.

The recovery process began on 18 March, when the attacker decided to return around $5.4 million to the platform, and then continued to return the stolen crypto assets at variable intervals. The individual also attached messages to several blockchain transactions, seemingly apologizing about the exploit, and promising to return the remaining funds as soon as possible.

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March 29, 2023, 2:00 PM
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Euler Finance Gives $200M Exploiter an Ultimatum
  • DeFi lending protocol Euler Finance has given the exploiter 24 hours to return 90% of the $197 million he stole in a flash-loan attack on Monday.
  • If the funds were not returned in time, the protocol is ready to post a $1 million bounty on any information that could lead to the arrest of the attacker.
Euler Finance Exploited for $197M in Flash Loan Attack
  • The attacker carried out multiple transactions to steal 85,818 staked ether (stETH), 34.5 million USDC, 849 wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and 8.9 million DAI.
  • Euler Finance is now working with security professionals and law enforcement trying to rectify the situation, and will provide more information in the near future.