The Poly Network Attack: A $42 Billion Crypto Heist

This weekend, the Poly Network was hit by an attack. The hacker exploited a vulnerability and created billions of dollars in tokens that he paid out to himself. Poly Network has urged users to remain calm and protect their assets. However, this does not resolve the situation; the network is still down.

$42 billion worth of crypto created?

The hacker operated a so-called crypto bridge, or bridge between large networks, making it possible to generate immense amounts of crypto that did not exist before. This is what Arhat of 3z3 Labs announces via Twitter. The researcher also says that at the moment just after the hack, the perpetrator’s wallet contained 42 billion dollars in tokens, at least on paper. This amount has been confirmed by blockchain security company PeckShield.

Ultimate damage so far limited

Although the hacker created 42 billion dollars in tokens, it does not mean that the hacker will also make off with this amount. Only a small part of the loot was able to convert the perpetrator into Ethereum (ETH): 400 thousand dollars to be exact. Fortunately, there was not enough liquidity available for the rest of the generated tokens.

For example, the hacker generated 99 million BNB tokens and 10 billion BUSD tokens on the Metis blockchain. Metis itself has indicated that these tokens are practically worthless because there is no liquidity available. Poly Network has also frozen the tokens.

Although Arhat indicates that the hacker only stole $400,000 in tokens, opinions are divided on this. According to security company SlowMist, the hacker sold $4.39 million worth of tokens. Whether it will stay at this amount remains to be seen for the time being. However, this attack raises major questions about the security of the Poly Network. As previously mentioned, this is the second major attack on Poly Network since 2021.