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.