Tender.fi Hacker Returns Stolen Assets with a Bounty Twist

A Twist in the Tale: The Exploit Unfolds

At precisely 10:28 AM UTC on March 7, the decentralized finance (DeFi) world was shaken as the lending platform Tender.fi announced an exploit. The perpetrators used a price oracle clash to borrow a staggering $1.59 million from the protocol by only depositing a single GMX token worth merely $71. Not exactly a fair trade, right?

“It looks like your oracle was misconfigured. Contact me to sort this out.” – The hacker

All’s Well That Ends Well—Sort Of

Just eight hours after the theft, Tender.fi reached out to the hacker, who proudly donned the white-hat title, for assistance. They struck a deal: the hacker would return all stolen assets minus a bountiful bonus of 62.16 ETH, which is around $97,000. No bad blood here—just a quirky rebranding of an old-fashioned theft!

Back in the Saddle: Loan Repayments Confirmed

Then, like a well-oiled machine, Tender.fi confirmed on Twitter that the funds were back where they belonged. “Funds are officially SaFu,” the tweet proclaimed—because nothing says safety like some playful internet lingo after losing millions.

History Repeats: A Look at Past Whitehat Interventions

This wasn’t the first time a DeFi bridge has seen a charming white-hat thief. Last August, the notorious Nomad Bridge suffered a $190 million exploit. In an unexpected twist, many exploiters returned parts of the loot, possibly in a bid to earn their own white-hat accolades. It goes to show that even in the shady world of crypto, a hero sometimes emerges from the shadows!

Thank You for Returning the Favor?

In a gesture to honor those returning ill-gotten gains, Nomad even launched a “Whitehat Prize” in the form of a trendy NFT, making it official: do the right thing and you might just score a digital collectible. Because who wouldn’t want bragging rights for returning stolen funds?