KyberSwap Proposes a 10% Bounty to Recover $50M in Stolen Funds

In a bold move to recover stolen assets, KyberSwap, a prominent decentralized exchange (DEX), has offered a 10% bounty to the hacker responsible for a recent heist involving $50 million. This initiative marks a significant step in the platform’s efforts to negotiate and safeguard user funds.

Negotiating with the Hacker

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) governing KyberSwap reached out to the hacker following the Nov. 22 incident, proposing a negotiation. The hacker, having declared the need to rest before negotiations, has since remained silent. The attack specifically targeted the platform’s liquidity pools, significantly reducing its total value locked (TVL) from $80 million to a mere $7.78 million.

A Unique Proposal for Asset Recovery

KyberSwap’s proposal includes a bounty equivalent to 10% of the stolen user funds. The DAO’s message, sent from a contract deployer wallet, acknowledged the sophistication of the hack and emphasized the importance of returning the stolen assets to users. The DEX set a deadline of Nov. 25, 06:00 UTC, for the funds’ return.

Trend of Hackers Teasing Victims

The practice of hackers teasing their victims through signed transactions with text strings is becoming increasingly common in decentralized finance (DeFi) exploits. This method also serves as a way for protocol teams to engage in negotiations with their attackers.