By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 23rd, 2024
Although pNetwork is already fixing the problem, the BSC DeFi platform has promised the hackers $1.5 million if they return their hack loot.
pNetwork became the latest victim of a DeFi hack, after hackers reportedly breached the protocol and stole $12.7 million worth of Bitcoin. The exchange is the latest on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to fall victim to a hack as other DeFi platforms have. A Twitter report published on September 20th by pNetwork said the cross-chain DeFi exchange lost 277 pBTC. In addition, the criminals took off with most of the exchange’s collateral, according to the same report.
pNetwork said the hackers carried out the heist by exploiting a bug in its codebase. However, the platform has said that it is already fixing the problem. Furthermore, the DeFi platform appeared to be offering a middle ground to the perpetrators. pNetwork suggested that the hackers could retain 11.5% of the stolen funds and return the rest. A statement issued by the exchange read:
“To the black hat hacker. Although this is a long shot, we’re offering a clean $1,500,000 bounty if funds are returned.”
The price of pNetwork’s native token PNT dropped by 18% within the last 24 hours. Furthermore, the pNetwork team is yet to issue any further details on the exploit, as at press time. The exchange has also not provided details on any plausible plans to reimburse affected users.
BSC Now Has a Lengthy List of DeFi Platforms Affected by a Hack
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has been hit by a few hacks in this year alone, targeting the protocols on its platform. They include Pancake Bunny, Cream Finance, bEarn, Bogged Finance, Uranium Finance, Meerkat Finance, SafeMoon, Spartan Protocol, BurgerSwap, Belt Finance, and presently – pNetwork. Notably, in early August, Poly Network hackers made off with $253 million from the Binance Smart Chain, part of a $600 million total. The hacker, however, ended up returning almost all of the loot.
pNetwork allows for the movement of digital assets across different blockchains. It is similar to other wrapped token protocols, allowing users to mint pBTC by depositing BTC into a smart contract. This allows for the migration of BTC value off the Bitcoin network and onto chains compatible with EVM.
pNetwork is far from the first cross-chain DeFi platform to suffer from a digital-breach-inspired heist. As recently as July, decentralized exchange THORChain lost $7.6 million to a similar hack. Remarkably, a few weeks later, THORChain fell victim to another hack, this time for around $8 million. However, the hacker agreed to return the stolen funds for a 10% bounty exchange.
Calls for Regulation Over Crypto Space
The increasing number of security breaches of decentralized protocols comes even as regulatory bodies call for better oversight over the space. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been at the forefront of such calls. Its chairman Gary Gensler wrote a letter to the US senator Elizabeth Warren in early August requesting for increased regulatory authority. Gensler believes that regulation will tackle several unwholesome practices currently prevalent in the crypto space. Some of these include financial impropriety and money laundering.