Hackers steal $197 million from crypto lending platform Euler Finance

 Hackers steal $197 million from crypto lending platform Euler Finance

(IANS) Cyber criminals have stolen around $197 million in cryptocurrencies from crypto-lending platform Euler Finance.

Blockchain monitoring firm PeckShield tweeted that Euler Finance was exploited in a spate of transactions on Ethereum, "resulting in the loss of $197 million from the project."

Independent researcher ZachXBT wrote on Twitter that it was "almost certainly" an attack by malicious hackers.

"We are aware of this and our team is currently working with security experts and law enforcement. We will release more information as soon as we have it," Euler Finance shared in a tweet.

Several Euler investors described their plight on social media platforms.

"Almost $1.3 million gone. I thought they were the safest credit protocol. I never liked Michael on Twitter, but I can not imagine them posting updates without notice or checks," wrote one Euler investor on Discord.

Euler's crypto token dropped drastically after news of the cyberattack.

Cryptocurrency hackers stole $3.8 billion last year, making it the worst year in history for crypto investors, up from $3.3 billion in 2021.

According to blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, October was the single biggest month ever for cryptocurrency hackers, as $775.7 million was stolen in 32 separate attacks.

Decentralised Finance (DeFi) protocols as victims accounted for 82.1 percent of all cryptocurrencies stolen by hackers -- a total of $3.1 billion -- up from 73.3 percent in 2021. Of that $3.1 billion, 64 percent came specifically from cross-chain bridge protocols.

IANS