Unexpected Twist Unfolds as DeFi Hacker Makes a Surprising Move – What Comes Next?
The hacker behind the $197 million Euler Finance heist returned 3,000 Ether ($5.4 million) to the platform, though the chances of recovering the entire sum remain low.
The hacker who recently stole $197 million from Euler Finance, marking the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) hack of 2023 thus far, appears to have had a change of heart. On March 18, the attacker returned about 3,000 Ether ($5.4 million) to Euler Finance's deployer address. Blockchain investigator PeckShield confirmed three transactions were used to send the funds.
Coinpaprika verified that the hacker transferred 1,000 ETH per transaction to Euler's deployer account. However, the likelihood of the attacker returning the entire $197 million remains low, as no further outbound transactions were recorded at the time of writing. On March 16, Euler Finance announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen funds.
The exploiter managed to drain $197 million through multiple transactions and subsequently used a multichain bridge to transfer the funds from the BNB Chain to Ethereum. Following the announcement of the $1 million bounty, the stolen funds were moved into the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. Euler Finance demanded that the hacker return 90% of the funds within 24 hours to avoid potential jail time
