Hacker Returns $19.3 Million To Drained US Government Crypto Wallet (decrypt.co) 16
A government-controlled wallet that had been drained of $20 million on Thursday received most of its funds back Friday, adding another layer of mystery to transactions flagged by blockchain analysts as likely being connected to a high-profile theft. From a report: The pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT had said in a tweet Thursday that the transfers resembled the playbook of a bad actor. Engaging with several decentralized finance protocols, the wallet had also tapped so-called instant exchanges after funds were moved across a series of transfers that "looked nefarious." About $19.3 million worth of funds had been returned to the wallet early Friday, per on-chain data collected by Arkham Intelligence, including Ethereum and the stablecoin USDC. Still, ZachXBT said in his Telegram community that funds transferred to exchanges had not yet been returned.
Don't poke a sleeping bear. (Score:3)
You know someone's intimidating when a thief returns stolen goods without ever being told to do so.
Re: (Score:2)
The full article seems to say that the funds were then taken back out of the government controlled wallet. ... $6.1mil Ethereum ... $11.6mil aUSDC ... $7,190 USDC
* Thursday: gov wallet drained of $20mil
* Early Friday: $19.3mil returned to gov wallet
* "As of this writing", gov wallet missing $1.2mil compared to loss
* An hour after the government-controlled wallet received funds back, the funds started flowing to a wallet with an address beginning “0x0Ca.”
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* "That left the wallet in a condition
Re: Don't poke a sleeping bear. (Score:1)
Especially with the whole recently top secrets documents got leaked and we are trying to find out from where situation that is currently happening..
This is nothing more then a gut instinct so take it with a grain of salt.
Re: (Score:2)
My guess is the gov is doing this to themselves ...
... this seems more like the government ... using to purchase information ...
More in common than not - we both think the gov is the one doing the thieving from its own wallet :-)
Re: (Score:1)
That left the wallet ...containing just over $130 of a Trump-themed meme coin
LoL. Not even thieves want that shit.
It's not like they won't go after him anyway... (Score:2)
If you steal something and later put it back, you're still guilty of theft.
The consequences might not be as bad, but there will still be some.
Re: (Score:2)
If you steal something and later put it back ...
... and then take it yet again, you're surely guilty of theft. Check the article - they seem to say money was taken back out.
That said, the DOJ seized the money to begin with, so it's stolen turtles all the way down, lol.
Re: It's not like they won't go after him anyway.. (Score:2)
Wrong, theft requires the intention to permanently deprive. If you drain a crypto wallet and then put it back the next day there is clearly no intention to permanently deprive and consequently no theft took place.
Re: (Score:2)
Wrong, theft requires the intention to permanently deprive.
So non-consensual borrowing is not a crime, or it's not one of the crimes we call "theft"? That seems unlikely.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know where you live and thus can't speak to the laws of your locality. I can only say that is definitely not the standard for the governing US federal statute, which would be the governing law in this case. Further, since the person who took the crypto didn't have permission to do so, meaning it also falls afoul of several anti-hacking statutes as well as wire fraud.
Government-controlled wallet :o (Score:2)
Who drained this government-controlled wallet?
If a wallet can be drained of $20 million then it ain't by definition controlled.
hacker has a sense of humor (Score:1)
Yoink, Ok I'll put it back
psych!
Yoink!
Wait, what? (Score:2)
Why did the US government have a crypto wallet?
Had it been seized from a criminal, or ... ?
What other legitimate reason could there be?
so exchanges made easy money? (Score:2)