At the end of September, HTX - Huobi's rebranded global exchange was hacked, causing losses of approximately $8 million. The attacker stole 4,997 ETH from the exchange's hot wallet, worth approximately $7.9 million. HTX CEO Justin Sun said the identity of the attacker had already been revealed and offered the attacker a 5% white hat reward to return the funds within a week in exchange for not taking legal action.
The exchange announced that all stolen ETH was covered by reserves after the attack. Although the deadline for the attacker to return the funds was almost a week late, it is thought that the attacker contacted the exchange and the deadline was only given because he wanted assurance that the attacker would not actually be prosecuted.
Yesterday afternoon, the funds returned to the exchange's hot wallet. HTX paid the attacker a white hat bonus of 250 ETH, stating that the attacker made the right choice. It is unclear why the attacker sent the entire amount back after receiving the reward. This action may have been carried out to eliminate the possibility of a future lawsuit by proving that the attacker no longer has any of the stolen funds.
The exchange announced that all stolen ETH was covered by reserves after the attack. Although the deadline for the attacker to return the funds was almost a week late, it is thought that the attacker contacted the exchange and the deadline was only given because he wanted assurance that the attacker would not actually be prosecuted.
Yesterday afternoon, the funds returned to the exchange's hot wallet. HTX paid the attacker a white hat bonus of 250 ETH, stating that the attacker made the right choice. It is unclear why the attacker sent the entire amount back after receiving the reward. This action may have been carried out to eliminate the possibility of a future lawsuit by proving that the attacker no longer has any of the stolen funds.