Polynetwork, a platform designed to connect blockchains, reports that its public appeal on Twitter to hackers to return the $610 million in stolen cryptocurrency has started to yield results, with several million already being returned.
Recently, Polynetwork made the unusual decision to post a message on Twitter directed at the hackers, highlighting that the amount taken was unprecedented in decentralized finance history. They urged the return of the funds, emphasizing that the stolen money belonged to tens of thousands of members of the crypto community.
The hackers stole approximately $257 million in Ethereum, $252 million in Binance Coin, and $85 million in USDC tokens, diverting the assets to three different addresses, as detailed by security firm SlowMist in a Medium article. Polynetwork provided addresses on Twitter for the hackers to use to return the stolen funds. This strategy appears to have gained some traction, with reports indicating that around $4.8 million had been returned by around 1:00 PM BST on Wednesday.
By the end of the day, Polynetwork announced that a total of $260 million had been returned. SlowMist has indicated that they have information regarding the attacker’s email, IP address, and device fingerprints, suggesting they are actively tracking potential clues about the identity of the Poly Network attacker. Additionally, $33 million in Tether has been frozen by Bitfinex, while Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao mentioned that his exchange is “coordinating with security partners,” although he pointed out that there are “no guarantees” in resolving the situation.