Unveiling the Prisma Finance Hacker: How a Blockchain Detective Revealed the Culprit

15 views 2:39 pm 0 Comments May 17, 2024

Before the \(11 million breach, Prisma Finance had approximately \)220 million in total value locked (TVL) on its platform. However, following the attack, this number plummeted to just $115 million.

The perpetrator behind the theft of millions from the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Prisma Finance has been identified after an extensive investigation. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed the hacker’s identity as Trung, also known as 0x77, through a series of posts on the social media platform X.

ZachXBT’s investigation unveiled that the hacker’s wallets received funding on-chain via FixedFloat, an automated exchange that prioritizes user anonymity by omitting Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verifications. By leveraging timing analysis, the blockchain expert traced the fund’s origin to Arbitrum, a layer-2 scaling solution within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Furthermore, utilizing the same timing technique, the crypto detective uncovered connections between the Prisma Finance attacker’s address and withdrawals on the TRON blockchain and Bybit exchange.

The investigation by ZachXBT also revealed the hacker’s involvement in previous exploits within the industry, such as the Arcade_xyz hack in March 2023 and the Pine Protocol exploit in February of the current year. Additionally, the crypto sleuth identified a link between the Prisma Finance hacker and another exploiter on Telegram using the pseudonym 0x77.

On March 28, 2024, Prisma Finance fell victim to an exploit resulting in the loss of approximately 3,257.7 Ethereum (ETH), valued at around $11 million at the time. Initially, the hacker portrayed the attack as a “whitehat rescue,” claiming to expose vulnerabilities within the platform to enhance its security. However, subsequent investigations revealed that the stolen funds were exchanged for another token, debunking the initial claim.

The attack on Prisma Finance not only impacted its TVL, which dropped to \(115 million post-incident, but also caused a 30% decline in its native token PRISMA’s value to \)0.244. Despite this setback, CoinGecko reports that the digital asset has since recovered.

The assault on Prisma Finance is one among many plaguing the crypto industry, with hackers exploiting vulnerabilities and impeding the growth of the DeFi sector. In 2024 alone, bad actors have siphoned over \(200 million from various projects through rug pulls, hacks, and exit scams. This trend continues from the previous year, where hacks and scams resulted in losses exceeding \)1.8 billion, with 17% of the attacks attributed to the notorious North Korean Lazarus Group.

Cybersecurity News, News, Technology News

Thank you for subscribing!