In a shocking turn of events, an anonymous hacker has once again returned stolen ETH tokens to CoinDash – a tool aiming to help users manage, track, analyze, and “get a bird’s eye view” of their crypto assets.
In July 2017, CoinDash lost millions of dollars worth of Ethereum almost immediately upon launching its initial coin offering (ICO). After the devastating loss, CoinDash promised to compensate investors with the equivalent amount of CoinDash tokens, while stating:
This was a damaging event to both our contributors and our company but it is surely not the end of our project.
Shockingly, one alleged hacker apparently had a change of heart and returned 10,000 ETH to CoinDash in September 2017 – but this would not be the last of the unexpected returns.
On February 23 – only days before the company’s official product launch – CoinDash revealed another 20,000 ETH has miraculously been returned to the company, stating in an official blog post:
Today at 12:01:41 AM +UTC, 20,000 ETH were sent back from the hackers address (FAKE_CoinDash) to one of CoinDash’s ETH accounts …
CoinDash has also stressed that this unexpected turn of events “will not jeopardize the company’s plan and commitment to our community.” Wrote CEO Alon Muroch:
Similar to the hack itself, the hacker’s actions will not prevent us from the realizing our vision, CoinDash product launch will take place next week as originally intended.
CoinDash has notified the Counter Cyber Terrorist Unit in Israel, where the company is based, and has made it clear that “the hacker’s Ethereum address will continue to be tracked and monitored for any suspicious activity.”
But Why?
Perhaps the most suspicious thing about all of this activity is that the stolen ETH has been returned at a much more valuable price than when it was stolen, meaning CoinDash has, technically speaking, profited from the stolen ETH in question – though, the cost of their damaged reputation is unknown.
This surprising turn of events has led to some theories that the stolen and subsequently returned ETH was an inside job or a PR stunt. Others have theorized that the hackers found themselves unable to do anything with the stolen ETH after the criminal wallet was blacklisted as “Fake_Coindash,” and thus simply returned it in an attempt to minimize potential charges levied against the culprits, should they be caught.
Why do you think the hackers returned the stolen ETH to CoinDash? Was it an inside job as some have theorized? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitcoinist archives.
