BadgerDAO is the most recent DeFi platform to succumb to a hack that saw attackers move millions of dollars in crypto off the platform. This follows months of exploits in the space where various protocols and platforms have lost hundreds of millions to these attackers. The revolving theme around these hacks is that the attackers find a vulnerability and then exploit it to steal crypto from investors.
The hack occurred five days ago when BadgerDAO reported on Twitter that it had received reports of unauthorized withdrawal of user funds on the platform. The team had quickly swung into action to stop the attacker by pausing all smart contracts but this proved a little too late as the attacker had already made off with over $120 million in crypto.
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In the wake of the hack, BadgerDAO has resorted to a course of action that was first taken by Poly Network following its record hack. The DeFi platform has issued a statement reaching out to the attacker, pleading with them to return the stolen funds.
BadgerDAO Pleads With Hacker To Return Crypto
In a statement that was posted on Monday, BadgerDAO revealed that it had reached out to the hacker in hopes that they would return the stolen funds from the exchange. The statement started out with an update, for which one has been provided daily since the hack, assuring the community that the DeFi platform was investigating the exploit and planned to take remedial action.
In the meantime, users will be unable to carry out any sort of transactions on the platform as smart contracts remain paused for the foreseeable future. BadgerDAO said that it was working to make sure that these smart contracts were safe for use before they can reactivate them to prevent further risks of losing funds.
DeFi market cap at $150 billion | Source: Crypto Total DeFi Market Cap on TradingView.com
BadgerDAO left onchain messages to the hacker on two wallets that are believed to belong to the hacker. “To the Actor – You have taken funds that do not belong to you but we are willing to work with you and compensate you for identifying this vulnerability in the systems,” the statement read. “We are providing you with a direct line of communication to discuss a peaceful resolution without involving any outside parties. Contact us to discuss further and do the right thing on behalf of the community.”
Gunning For Peaceful Resolution
The move to reach out to hackers after an attacker was greatly publicized following the Poly Network hack. After losing over $600 million is what is known as the largest DeFi hack to date, the team had reached out to the attacker via the blockchain, and the funds were returned in batches after days of back-and-forth between Poly Network and “Mr. White Hat”. This is however not the first time that a DeFi attacker would be returning stolen funds.
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In 2020, Harvest Finance had suffered a hack that saw it lose $24 million in crypto. However, after multiple public messages to the hacker, including the fact that they knew their identity, the hacker had returned $2.5 million. The returned funds were then distributed to users who were affected by the hack.
It is still too early to tell how negotiations might go between BadgerDAO and the hacker in this case. The message is out there, but the attacker is yet to respond to the pleas of the team.
Featured image from Nairametrics, chart from TradingView.com
