Jump Crypto, the Chicago-based crypto arm of Jump Trading, was able to help develop DeFi project Wormhole and then counter-exploit the Wormhole protocol hacker to retrieve $140 million worth of tokens.
According to a recent blog post, Jump Crypto and Oasis, which develop multi-signature wallet software, teamed up to successfully recover certain assets involved with the wallet address associated with the Wormhole exploiter.
Oasis, a well-known blockchain company, has recently claimed that a Whitehat group helped them during their recent endeavor. However, blockchain data suggests that Jump Crypto, a rival blockchain company, might have been the real party involved. The ownership of the wallets involved in the counter-exploit has been traced back to the company.
On February 21, Oasis received an order from the High Court of England and Wales requiring it to take steps to retrieve certain stolen assets. This is a major development in the ongoing case and could mean a breakthrough in the search for the missing funds.
The DeFi platform, which the attacker relied upon during one step of the attack, said a Whitehat group reached out to the team with a plan that showed it would be possible to retrieve the assets. The Whitehat group even provided a Proof of Concept on how it could be achieved.
Oasis said it has returned the funds to an authorized third party and that it retains no control over the funds. “We can also confirm the assets were immediately passed onto a wallet controlled by the authorised third party, as required by the court order,” it said.
In early 2022, a hacker stole 120,000 ETH tokens, worth above $321 million at the time, from the Wormhole cross-chain bridge. This was one of many major hacks of the past year.
In 2022, the crypto industry lost approximately $4 billion worth of digital assets to hacks, fraud, scams, and rug pulls. Five major exploits totaled $2,361,000,000 alone. This was according to a report by Immunefi, a bug bounty and security services platform for the Web3 ecosystem.