Poly Network Hack - $610 Million Stolen in 2021

Summary #

On August 10, 2021, Poly Network, a cross-chain decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, was hacked for over $610 million in digital assets. The attackers exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network’s code to transfer the funds to their own wallets.

Attackers #

Attackers’ identities have not been publicly disclosed. The hacker used the following addresses to transfer the funds:

• Ethereum:
  • 0xC8a65Fadf0e0dDAf421F28FEAb69Bf6E2E589963
• BSC:
  • 0x0D6e286A7cfD25E0c01fEe9756765D8033B32C71
• Polygon:
  • 0x5dc3603C9D42Ff184153a8a9094a73d461663214

Losses #

The total amount of losses resulting from the Poly Network hack was over $610 million. The stolen funds consisted of 6,014 ETH, 273,900 Binance Coin (BNB), 2,651 Tether (USDT), and 1,000 Polygon (MATIC).

Timeline #

• August 10, 2021: Poly Network is hacked.
• August 10, 2021: Tether froze ~33M $USDt on 0xC8a65Fadf0e0dDAf421F28FEAb69Bf6E2E589963
• August 12, 2021: The attackers return most of the stolen funds
• August 23, 2021: Poly Network Commences Full Asset Restoration

Security Failure Causes #

• Vulnerabilities in Poly Network’s code: The attackers exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network’s code to transfer the funds to their own wallets.