$36M Whale Loss, dETH Crash, and the FBI’s Market Manipulation Sting

Cryptocurrencies are extraordinarily dynamic industries in which even minor mistakes can have extremely negative results. This week’s crypto hack news brings three rather important events, which demonstrate the weaknesses present in the sector. 

A whale, overly enthusiastic about DeFi, lost $36 million through phishing, which led to the crashing of dETH prices. At the same time, an investor suffered from the token theft of $6m yet EIGEN Layer claimed its protocol was safe and did not experience such a loss. At last, U.S authorities decided to charge those involved in manipulating markets, arresting 18 individuals and firms including Gotbit Consulting.

Whale Loses $36M in Phishing Scam, Causing dETH to Fall

A whale was recently compromised and lost 15,079 fwDETH ($36 million) after affixing a poisonous signature to a phishing email. The hacker further transferred out the stolen tokens almost instantly which caused a very sharp decline in the dETH market. The token, typically pegged 1:1 with ETH, decreased by over 90% and touched the low, 0,06 ETH before coming back to the range of 0,27 ETH.

$6M Stolen in EIGEN Phishing Scam; No Protocol Flaw, Says EIGEN Layer

An investor lost around $6 million worth of tokens, EIGEN through a phishing attack. The attacker changed the receipt to a fake address of its own. However, EIGEN Layer was able to reassure that the grounds for the attack were not anchored in the platform’s on-chain and the investor’s email was the only compromised account. 

FBI Sting Eliminates Market Manipulation With a Rip-Off

The US Deputy Attorney General has indicted 18 persons and crypto firms including Gotbit Consulting for fraud and market manipulation in which the FBI and the SEC joined the Department of Justice to arrest them and seize $2.4m in cash and cryptocurrencies. 

The agencies employed a fake token, NexFundAI, to establish that the accused was involved in a common market manipulative vice of wash trading. It resulted in the arrest of several people, and it was the first time that the DOJ carried out a criminal investigation of manipulation in the crypto market.

User caution:

Signs and signatures should always be checked as there are also fake ones and as for links, they must not lead to something criminal to protect our assets. The crypto space has its inherent dangers but by learning how to identify them you will survive the next scam.