Crypto platform Wormhole: Hackers have stolen $320 million (Rs 2,400 crore) of crypto currency from a decentralized finance platform, which is the fourth biggest robbery of crypto. This is a big blow to the fast emerging DeFi sector. Wormhole said on Twitter on Wednesday that it had “used up” 120,000 units of a version of the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, ether. A wormhole is a site that allows the transfer of information from one crypto network to another.
Wormhole has not yet responded to a request from Reuters.
Attackers fraudulently created tokens
London-based blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said that the attackers managed to fraudulently create around 94,000 wETH tokens, which were then transferred to the Ethereum blockchain. The Ethereum blockchain enables transactions for Ether.
Explained: Know the rules of tax on crypto, you will be in profit
How DeFi Platforms Work
Wormhole said in another tweet on Thursday that it has fixed the issue with its system, but is still working to achieve network backup. DeFi platforms purportedly allow users to lend, borrow and save in cryptocurrencies in general, while bypassing various traditional channels of finance such as banks.
Budget 2022: TDS on crypto will give Rs 1000 crore income to the government
The flaws of DeFi platforms have come to the fore
Huge cash flows into DeFi sites, reflecting the growing interest in cryptocurrencies. Many investors are attracted to DeFi with the promise of high returns on savings. However, with the huge growth, the DeFi platform has been exposed to huge hacking risks due to code and design flaws. Also DeFi sites are the target of criminals.
Budget 2022: Have you invested in crypto? Details to be given in IT return next year
These are the biggest thefts
In August last year, hackers stole more than $61 million worth of digital coins from the blockchain-based platform Poly Network. It is considered the biggest theft of crypto.
Earlier in 2018, $53 million in digital tokens was stolen from Tokyo-based platform Coincheck. In 2014, another Japanese exchange was devastated after the theft of $500 million worth of crypto.