What to know:
- A hacker stole $49.5 million from stablecoin neobank Infini, according to Peckshield.
- The firm has stated it has identified the hacker and issued a warning.
- Infini expressed readiness to freeze the stolen capital and has offered 20% of the stolen assets for their return.
Infini, a prepaid payments card issuer that provides interest on deposits of dollar stablecoins, warned a hacker that it had gathered crucial IP and device information following the loss of nearly all the value held in its wallets.
The thief siphoned off $49.5 million from the Hong Kong-based neobank’s wallets, as per Peckshield. The company indicated just on Sunday it had secured $50 million in total value.
The breach occurred just days after Bybit, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, experienced a hacker depleting its ether cold wallet with nearly $1.5 billion in crypto’s most significant exploit.
“We are closely monitoring the address involved and are prepared to take immediate action to freeze any stolen funds if necessary,” Infini informed the hacker in a blockchain transaction. “To resolve this matter amicably, we are willing to offer you 20% of the stolen assets should you choose to return the funds.”
Infini granted the hacker 48 hours to facilitate a resolution, warning that failure to respond would compel it to escalate its investigation in conjunction with law enforcement.
According to Cyvers, the exploit took place after a developer who assisted in setting up its smart contract retained admin privileges over it. Over three months later, they exploited these rights and transferred the funds to a wallet via the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.
Christian Li, the founder of the neobank, has committed to compensating the entire loss from his personal assets and accepted responsibility for the incident.
