The hole attackers transferred $2.9 million to a new wallet address months after the hack

Wormhole network exploiters transferred $2.9 million to a new Ethereum (ETH) wallet based on Report By crypto security website, Mistrack. Over 120,000 ETH was stolen in early February 2022 from Wormhole, making it one of the largest thefts in crypto history.

A security flaw that cost millions of dollars

The wormhole was breached when an attacker (or group) stole approximately $325 million by exploiting a vulnerability. An update on the GitHub repository was the cause. The update revealed a fix for a bug that has not yet been published.

On Wormhole’s Twitter, they confirmed the hack had occurred and provided the exact amount stolen.

The attacker used a valid signature to access a transaction on the solana (SOL) blockchain. This deal allowed them to freely mint more than 120,000 wrapped ethereum (wETH), which is equivalent to about $325 million as of this writing.

The hackers transferred funds from Wormhole before exchanging the stolen ETH for about $250 million. This transaction led to the liquidation of the platform’s ETH held as collateral on solana while also leading to a 10% drop in SOL prices.

Stablecoins under fire

The vulnerability allowed attackers to temporarily leave a large gap between the normal and WETH in the Wormhole Bridge.

Subsequently, stablecoins have come under fire from regulators for having greatly affected the broader financial market in recent years, with a notable example being the collapse of underground reservoirs.

Regulators are concerned that digital currencies could negatively impact the traditional money market. Normally, when converting digital money into fiat money, issuers must sell their assets as a reserve. This means that a large part of the US T-bills, which Circle holds as reserves for USDC in circulation, will have to be liquidated.