Verus bridge exploiter returns $8.5M after bounty offer
The hacker behind the Verus bridge exploit returned 75% of the stolen funds as part of a recovery deal negotiated with the protocol days after the incident....
Key takeaways
- 1Verus bridge exploiter returned 4,052 ETH ($8.5M) after protocol offered 1,350 ETH bounty within 24 hours.
- 2DeFi hacks totaled $634 million in April 2026, with Drift Protocol ($280M) and Kelp ($293M) as largest incidents.
- 3Crypto hacks have stolen over $17 billion across 518 incidents in past decade, mainly via compromised private keys.
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Why it matters
Bridge security remains critical infrastructure weakness threatening DeFi adoption and investor confidence in crypto platforms. For Indian retail investors, these recurring exploits highlight systemic custody and smart contract risks requiring caution before deploying capital into DeFi protocols.
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