Poly Network, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that connects different blockchains, announced on Twitter that it is suspending its operations in response to a recent attack. The team revealed that this breach affected 57 cryptocurrencies across 10 blockchains and advised users to swiftly withdraw their funds from decentralized exchanges.
Poly Network experienced a similar breach earlier in 2021, which resulted in the unauthorized transfer of digital assets worth approximately $600 million.
Poly Network Attack Details And Impact
Poly Network has sought help from cybersecurity professionals and individuals with relevant knowledge and encouraged users who possess any pertinent information to share it with the team.
Related Reading: Why Poly Network Asked Hacker To Become Its Chief Security Advisor
While the exact magnitude of the exploit was not explicitly disclosed, speculations arose regarding its potentially significant scale. Blockchain security firm Dedaub asserted that the hackers had compromised the private keys of the affected addresses.
Initial reports suggested that the hack amounted to $34 billion. However, the attacker had managed to create this substantial value through minting. The list of affected cryptocurrencies includes well-known tokens like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dai (DAI), among others.
The majority of the created value was on the Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, Metis. Nonetheless, due to insufficient liquidity, the attacker was unable to withdraw the generated funds.
Breach Simplicity And Attacker’s Gain
According to Dedaub, the breach was determined to be “not complex,” with the attacker utilizing keys to provide proof of being owed Binance Coin (BNB). As a result, the fraudster realized a total gain of approximately $5.5 million.
Poly Network has expressed its intention to collaborate with centralized exchanges and law enforcement agencies in addressing the incident. The platform holds hope that the attacker will return the stolen assets, potentially avoiding legal consequences.
To mitigate further risks for customers, Poly Network strongly urged individuals holding the affected assets to promptly withdraw their liquidity and unlock their LP tokens.
Related Reading: Poly Network Hacker Returns Stolen Funds After Requesting A Multisig Wallet
By expediting this process, customers can help minimize any additional potential vulnerabilities.
Binance CEO’s Response And Support For Poly Network
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, reacted to the recent DeFi attack. CZ reassured Binance users that the incident would not impact them since the platform does not support deposits from the compromised protocol.
Binance Coin market cap moves to $38.869 billion | Source: TradingView
Additionally, he stated that Binance had already extended assistance to Poly Network in resolving the issue, showcasing the exchange’s commitment to supporting the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. And his tweet seemed to have calmed the storm among Binance users.
