THORChain rejects Bitget request to block hacker as $6 million moves to bitcoin
Reported by CoinDesk · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
A wallet linked to the Bitget hacker swapped about 2,390 ether, worth $6.3 million, for 75.2 bitcoin through THORChain on Monday. Bitget, which lost approximately $388 million in a breach on September 24, requested THORChain to block attacker addresses and offered a 5% bounty for freezing or recovering stolen funds. THORChain rejected selective blacklisting, stating its controls can halt broad network activity but cannot freeze individual addresses or transactions.
Why it matters
The source highlights that THORChain’s decentralized design allows users to swap assets across blockchains without centralized oversight, enabling stolen funds to be converted without restrictions. This raises challenges for exchanges seeking to block stolen assets and demonstrates the difficulty in enforcing blacklists in decentralized networks.
Key context
Bitget was hacked on September 24, losing about $388 million after an attacker bypassed its security controls. THORChain previously halted trading in May due to a $10.7 million cross-chain exploit but never blacklisted attacker addresses. The current situation involves swapping stolen ether for bitcoin via THORChain’s decentralized network, which does not have functionality to freeze specific addresses.
Key numbers and entities
Bitget lost about $388 million in the hack. Approximately 2,390 ether ($6.3 million) was swapped for 75.2 bitcoin ($83,570.20 per BTC). Bitget offered a 5% bounty for freezing or recovering stolen funds. The swap transactions occurred on Monday between 03:55 and 06:23 UTC.
What remains unclear
The source does not specify if THORChain plans any future measures to collaborate on stolen fund prevention beyond emergency network halts. It also does not detail how Bitget’s vulnerability was exploited or the identity of the hacker. The effectiveness of tracking stolen funds through public records and potential cooperation with law enforcement is not addressed.