Euler Finance to enter talks with exploiter over the return of funds

by Jeremy

Ethereum-based lending protocol Euler Finance may very well be a step nearer to recovering funds stolen in a $196 million flash mortgage assault final week, with personal discussions now initiated with the exploiter.

In an on-chain message to Euler on March 20, days after sending funds to a red-flagged North Korean handle, the exploiter claimed they now need to “come to an settlement” with Euler.

“We need to make this straightforward on all these affected. No intention of retaining what isn’t ours. Establishing safe communication. Allow us to come to an settlement,” stated the exploiter.

The hacker’s most up-to-date public on-chain message to Euler. Supply: Etherscan

Hours later, Euler replied with its personal on-chain message, acknowledging the message and asking the exploiter to speak “in personal,” stating:

“Message acquired. Let’s discuss in personal on blockscan through the Euler Deployer handle and certainly one of your EOAs, through signed messages over e mail at contact@euler.basis, or another channel of your selection. Reply together with your choice.”

Euler’s newest public on-chain message to the hacker. Supply: Etherscan

Euler had beforehand tried to chop a take care of the exploiter after the exploit, insisting that they return 90% of the funds they stole inside 24 hours or probably face authorized penalties.

There was no response, and 24 hours later, Euler launched a $1 bounty reward for any data that might result in the exploiter’s arrest and return of the funds.

Associated: Euler assault causes locked tokens, losses in 11 DeFi protocols, together with Balancer

Whereas the id of the exploiter isn’t recognized, the current language utilized by the exploiter might recommend a couple of particular person is concerned.

In a March 17 tweet, blockchain analytics agency Chainalysis stated the current 100 Ether (ETH) switch to a pockets handle related to North Korea might imply the hack is the work of the “DPRK” — the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea.

Nevertheless, this may be an try and deliberately misdirect investigators, the agency stated.

Different transactions from the exploiter’s pockets handle embody 3000 ETH, which was despatched again to Euler Finance on March 18, together with funds despatched to crypto mixer Twister Money and even an obvious sufferer of the exploit. 

On March 20, one other handle reached out to Euler on-chain, claiming to have discovered a “stable string of connections” that might assist them discover out who and the place the exploiter was.

Cointelegraph reached out to the Euler Basis for remark however didn’t obtain an instantaneous response.