Curve’s Conundrum: Bounty for Return of Stolen Crypto & Founder’s Debt

In an audacious move, Curve Finance and fellow victims of the recent crypto lending heist have extended a unique proposition to the hackers responsible. An offer of a 10% bounty awaits if the stolen tokens are returned promptly. But the clock is ticking, as the trio (Curve, Metronome, and Alchemix) has set a deadline of 6 August at 0800 UTC (4pm Singapore time) for the hackers to make their decision. Should the hackers fail to act, the tables will turn dramatically, and the bounty will transform into a vigilante payout for anyone who aids in identifying and apprehending these cybercriminals.

The trio wrote in an on-chain message sent to a hacker's Ethereum address, “You will have no risk of us pursuing this further, no risk of law enforcement issues, etc… We will pursue you from all angles with the full extent of the law.”

For context, Curve, Metronome, and Alchemix experienced a staggering loss of almost $62 million due to a cunning hacker's exploitation of a critical bug in their trading pools during the crypto heist. In the aftermath of this breach, a glimmer of hope emerged as they managed to recover some of the pilfered tokens from unwitting front-runners who inadvertently outpaced the hackers. However, a substantial portion of the treasure still lies in the hands of these elusive cyber criminals hence the ultimatum.

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Many others on Twitter (now rebranded as X) have jumped on the bandwagon of pointing fingers at the perpetrator(s).

Bad Debt Concerns
Michael Egorov, the founder of Curve Finance, appears to be making headway in his quest to settle an $80 million debt through a series of intriguing over-the-counter (OTC) sales involving the Curve (CRV) token. Data gathered by Twitter user EmberCN (in Mandarin) sheds light on Wintermute Trading's recent acquisition of a substantial 25 million CRV tokens for an impressive $10 million in just two transactions. What is particularly captivating is that Wintermute secured these tokens at a rate of approximately 40 cents each in the OTC deal, while the same CRV tokens currently fetch 58 cents on the open market.

Notable players such as Gnosis Chain and Reserve Protocol have emerged as significant purchasers of CRV tokens through OTC transactions. These sizeable cash injections have undoubtedly offered some respite to Michael as he endeavours to pay off his outstanding debts to Aave, Abracadabra, FraxLend, and Inverse Finance. Data from blockchain analytics firm DeBank reveals that while progress has been made, some borrowings still remain uncleared.

The fear of contagion looms large as Michael and others closely monitor the price of CRV, keeping a wary eye on the $0.368 threshold. The concern is justified, as DeFi risk management firm Gauntlet points out that if the CRV price hits this critical mark, Aave might have to liquidate Egorov's CRV collateral in a market with limited liquidity — a potentially perilous move.

COO of Defi Protocol ContentFi Labs, Nick Ruck, explained, “While some have claimed that the Curve OTC deals decentralise the token, most of the traders are whales or institutional firms… It’s not necessarily a bad thing for DeFi but it enables risky behavior or protocol founders to expect the industry to save themselves from contagion stemming from an irresponsible loan.”

Awaiting Answers Amidst Unanswered Questions
The stakes could not be higher. How might these transactions influence the dynamics of the CRV token's value in the broader cryptocurrency market? And will the hackers be enticed by the reward and reconsider their actions? Or will justice prevail, with community cooperation leading to the capture of those responsible? As the crypto world closely watches this high-stakes drama, questions abound. How will this unprecedented approach influence the fight against cybercrime in the cryptocurrency space? Measures need to be taken fortify the security of decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms moving forward.