UwU Offers $5M Reward for Hacker's Identity
By Anthony Burr | TH3FUS3 Managing Editor
June 14, 2024 08:39 AM
Reading time: 1 minute, 36 seconds
TL;DR UwU Lend protocol announces a $5 million bounty for identifying the hacker after a second exploit. The hacker stole $3.7 million from multiple pools. UwU Lend's token sees a 20% dip amid the crisis.
The team behind the UwU Lend protocol is offering a $5 million bounty to whoever identifies its attacker after they pulled off a second exploit on the protocol.
"The repayment deadline for the funds you stole has passed. 5 Million Dollar bounty to the first person to identify and locate you," UwU wrote to the hacker in a June 13 onchain message after they didn't transfer 80% of the stolen funds before UwU's requested deadline -- June 12 at 5:00 pm UTC.
A Hefty Bounty
UwU claims the $5 million bounty would be in Ether (ETH) and paid out before funds are recovered or charges are laid. This substantial offer is a testament to the severity of the situation and the urgency UwU wants to resolve the issue.
Second Exploit Strikes
The same hacker pulled off a second $3.7 million exploit on June 13, stealing funds from UwU's uDAI, uWETH, uLUSD, uFRAX, uCRVUSD, and uUSDT pools, according to blockchain security firm Cyvers. UwU then requested the hacker return 80% of the funds, allowing them to keep the remaining 20%. It also assured the hacker that they would cease legal action.
However, no response was received from the hacker, who committed the second $3.7 million exploit shortly before UwU announced the $5 million bounty.
"The second exploit occurred while UwU started reimbursing victims from the first $20.3 million exploit, which resulted from a price manipulation attack."
Financial Impact
Despite now losing a combined $24 million, the UWU Lend token (UWU) is only down 20% to $2.51 over the last week, according to CoinGecko. Remarkably, it still boasts a market cap of $22.6 billion, indicating that investor confidence has not entirely waned.
Industry-Wide Concerns
This incident sheds light on broader security concerns within the crypto industry. Nearly $19 billion in cryptocurrencies have been stolen since the first industry hack was reported in June 2011, a recent Crystal Intelligence report shows.
The UwU Lend protocol's situation underscores the urgent need for enhanced security measures in the rapidly evolving blockchain space.
