The hacker who was responsible for stealing a staggering 4997 ETH from Huobi (now HTX) has been rewarded with a $400k bounty after returning the total stolen assets to the exchange.
In an interesting development, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange did not only send the white-hat bounty to the perpetrator, but it also offered the hacker a job as a security Whitehat advisor for the platform.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT made this known via an X (formerly Twitter) post on October 7 sharing details of the transaction between the hacker and HTX.
It looks like the HTX/Huobi hacker has returned the funds (4997 ETH)
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0x48bd1179529343c7a970045290fd2b0b1d946f64e17c443a528e24bf7cdbb817 pic.twitter.com/MknehuhM6x
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 7, 2023
Hacker advises HTX about vulnerabilities in the hot wallet private key
Recall that HTX was hacked on September 25 with the attacker getting away with a total of 4997 ETH (worth $7.9 million). As promised, HTX sent the hacker a portion of the stolen funds as a reward for returning the funds.
In a message attached to the promised bounty, HTX informed the hacker that they “made the right choice,” asking for a security vulnerability assessment report sent to their email address.
While acknowledging the receipt of the bounty, the hacker left a note informing HTX about the vulnerability in its hot wallet address.
“You should change the system hot wallet address and reduce the system hot wallet rate,” the hacker wrote.
The affected wallet which was created in March had already received up to $500 million in deposits from Binance exchange. The assets were initially routed through the Mixin Network, which recently disclosed a substantial loss of $200 million, according to the blockchain analytics company Lookonchain. Later, HTX and Binance were identified as the sources of the funds.
Meanwhile, at the time of writing, it is unclear whether the hacker has accepted the job offered by the exchange or not. The return of the stolen assets has raised confidence in the exchange and it might gradually see increased user adoption in coming times.
The hacking incident occurred at the same time when rumors of HTX’s insolvency circulated with top figures in the crypto space urging users to withdraw their funds from the exchange.
Read more:
- How to Recover My Stolen Cryptocurrency
- FTX Hacker Resurfaces, Moves $38 Million Worth of Ethereum
- The Best Way to Store Cryptocurrency
Victor Swaezy
Victor Swaezy is a crypto-journalist with more than 3 years of experience in covering blockchain technology and digital currencies news. Known for his comprehensive reporting, Victor has contributed to leading industry publications such as Coinfomania and Crypto News Guru, providing market participants with the required knowledge to make informed decisions. When he is not working, he loves to watch movies and have a good time.