Euler Finance hacker returns ethereum worth $102m

In a surprising turn of events, the exploiter of Euler Finance has reportedly returned 51,000 ether (ETH) to the DeFi lending protocol.

According to BlockSec, a blockchain security firm working with Euler Labs, the exploiter has also returned a further 7,737 ETH, bringing the total returned funds to 58,737 ETH. All told, Euler has gotten back ETH worth about $102 million at current rates.

It is a remarkable development after the Euler hack on Mar. 13, 2023. The hack was one of the largest flash loan attacks in DeFi history, resulting in a loss of $197m from the protocol.

The attacker exploited the protocol’s smart contract vulnerability and stole over $197m of crypto assets. The stolen funds included $8.7m of DAI, $19m of wrapped bitcoin (wBTC), $34m in USD Coin (USDC), and about $136m of staked ether (stETH).

Euler Labs, the protocol’s developer, has been working with security professionals and law enforcement since the attack to track down the exploiter and recover the funds. The team also offered a $1m bounty for any information that could lead to the return of the funds.

Today the Euler Foundation is launching a $1M reward in the hope that this provides additional incentive for information that leads to the Euler protocol attacker’s arrest and the return of all funds extracted by the attacker.

— Euler Labs (@eulerfinance) March 15, 2023

Are hackers turning on each other?

To further add to the drama, the owner of a wallet allegedly containing 10m of the DAI stolen from Euler sent out a message indicating they would be willing to give detailed information about the Euler hacker in exchange for the 10% bounty Euler had previously offered.

In what seems like the attackers turning on each other, this message was quickly followed by a text from another wallet linked to the hack, in which someone identifying themselves as “Euler exploiter 3” put out an email address and asked Euler to contact them to spill the beans regarding the people behind the Mar. 13 exploit. In this case, the person explicitly stated they were uninterested in the bounty.

It is still being determined whether the first exploiter decided to return the funds voluntarily or under pressure from the authorities. However, some speculate that the exploiter may have negotiated with Euler Labs to avoid legal consequences.