Millions in Crypto Assets Left Idle in Bridge Contracts, Raises Hackers Alert: Arkham Report
Summary:
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham reports several crypto addresses with substantial funds left idle in at least two bridge contracts, presumed to be forgotten. The static wallets include those linked to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and crypto exchange Coinbase. The firm also highlights a growing trend of hackers targeting these bridges due to their automation by potentially vulnerable smart contracts. A white-hat hackers team named 'SEAL 911' is formed to combat these real-time crypto hacks.
Several crypto addresses with considerable funds have been left idle or seemingly forgotten within a minimum of two major bridge contracts, states blockchain intelligence company, Arkham. Numerous accounts with significant six to seven-figure sums are idly lying in bridge contracts, presumably forgotten, Arkham revealed in an X post dated April 22. Associated wallets include those linked to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, leading crypto exchange Coinbase, and various DeFi giants. The firm offered two screenshots exhibiting fund transfers to and from the Arbitrum and Optimism bridges as evidence to back their assertion.
According to Arkham, a wallet which received 50 Ether (ETH) from Buterin has gotten $1.05 million idling in the Optimism bridge for approximately seven months. If Buterin owns the address, the amount is a minor fraction of the $789 million worth of his crypto assets, as found in Arkham's data. Another wallet connected to Bofur Capital, notably sharing a name with a Celsius creditor, has failed to move $1.8 million in wrapped-Bitcoin (WBTC) in the Arbitrum bridge for 27 months. Adding to this, the decentralized air transportation solution Arrow's anonymous founder, Thomasg.eth, has $800,000 in Ether trapped in the Arbitrum bridge.
Additionally, six months ago, Coinbase attempted to move $75,000 in USD Coin (USDC) to Ethereum through the Optimism bridge. However, it remains unclaimed on Ethereum's base layer, Arkham reported. It's worth mentioning the caveat that the wallets’ owners may still have full control of these funds and could have purposely chosen to store them there temporarily.
Cross-chain bridges are essential to modular blockchain networks like Ethereum, which emphasize data security and availability while offloading the transaction process to layer 2s. However, their existence has made them attractive to hackers due to their automation via potentially unsafe smart contracts or highly centralized validator sets. For instance, the infamous $650 million Ronin bridge hack in March 2022, operated by North Korea's Lazarus Group, happened following its access to five of the nine private keys held by the validators. As a response to these threats, a team of ethical hackers called 'SEAL 911' has been launched to combat crypto hacks in real time.
Published At
4/23/2024 7:57:24 AM
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