The hacker who stole $610 million worth of crypto coins and gradually returned them will receive a reward of half a million dollars for his work. However, it is unclear whether the amount will be accepted.
Cryptocurrency company Poly Network fell victim to a hack in which an unknown hacker could steal more than half a billion in crypto coins. What followed was highly unseen: Poly Networks asked if the perpetrator would return the coins, and they did.
The millions have been returned in dribs and drabs in recent days with messages in the transaction messages. In it, the man or woman claims that it was never the intention to steal the money permanently but that it was a way to attract attention and prevent others with bad intentions from doing so.
The hack was possible due to a vulnerability in the digital contracts the company uses to move assets between different blockchains.
The company now told Reuters that it is offering the hacker a $500,000 bug bounty. The company also expresses its gratitude for already repaying the majority of the company and hopes that it will contribute to blockchain development.
That reward would be part of the negotiation about returning the stolen coins, but it is also unclear how it will be paid out and whether the hacker will accept it. After all, there is a risk that they can be traced and identified in this way.
According to Poly Networks, except for a portion that Poly Network itself froze, all digital currencies would now reside in a wallet managed by the hacker and the Poly Network team. The company hopes to continue communicating with the hacker to recover the money definitively.