Decentralized Lending Project Euler Finance Recovers $31 Million

In a rare instance of positive news for the DeFi space, Euler Finance, a decentralized lending project that fell victim to a hack on March 13, has successfully recovered $31 million. The attacker sent back $31 million at approximately 6:55 pm EST on Monday, comprising 10,580 ETH ($19 million) and $12 million in DAI, through three transactions. This brought the total value of the returned funds to over $177 million, accounting for 90% of the expected recoverable funds from the hack after adjusting for the 10% bounty previously offered by the project.

Euler Labs, the developer behind Euler Finance, confirmed the successful recovery in a recent Twitter post, stating: “Following successful negotiations, all of the recoverable funds taken from the Euler protocol on March 13th have now been successfully returned by the exploiter.”

Hacking in DeFi Space on the Rise

Hacks in the DeFi space have become increasingly common, making the recovery of stolen funds all the more significant. On March 13, Euler Finance was subject to a complex attack that leveraged flash loans, causing a loss of $197 million worth of crypto assets. To retrieve the stolen funds, Euler Finance offered the attacker a 10% bounty worth $19.7 million, with a warning to initiate a $1 million reward for information on the attacker if the remaining 90% of the funds were not returned.

Recovery Process Began on March 18

Despite initial doubts when the hacker laundered $1.8 million through the crypto mixer Tornado Cash three days after the attack, the recovery process began on March 18 with the return of $5.4 million to Euler. Over the following days, the hacker continued to return funds at variable intervals, returning the most significant tranche of $102 million in ETH. On March 28, the hacker sent a series of on-chain messages to their address, using the input data to share messages with the public. In these messages, the attacker expressed regret and promised to return the remaining funds as soon as possible.

Conclusion

The successful recovery of the remaining $31 million in stolen funds by Euler Finance marks a rare instance of a positive resolution in the DeFi space. With hacks on the rise in the DeFi world, the recovery of stolen funds is a significant milestone, and Euler Finance’s success in recovering such a substantial sum is commendable.

Source: TheBlock