The Zklend lending protocol recently confirmed a hack that resulted in over $9 million being stolen. In an effort to recover the funds, the team made a bold move by inviting the hacker to keep 10% as a reward, while returning the remaining 3,300 ETH (equivalent to $8.4 million) without facing any consequences.
Following the attack, Zklend took precautionary measures by temporarily suspending fund withdrawals to prevent further losses. The team also initiated an investigation into the incident. In a message addressing the hacker, the company assured that they would not pursue legal actions if the stolen funds were returned.
While the specifics of the hack are still being determined, it is suspected that the hacker exploited a vulnerability in the smart contract to carry out the theft. Zklend is actively monitoring the movement of the stolen assets and is collaborating with various teams to identify the individual behind the attack.
In a separate incident on January 8, 2025, a significant amount of funds were leaked from the Orange Finance platform due to hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in the company’s smart contracts. The stolen cryptocurrency amounted to approximately $787,000. The cryptocurrency hacking landscape in 2024 saw notable growth, with data from Chainalysis indicating that stolen funds totaled $2.2 billion, marking a 21.07% increase from 2023. The number of attacks also rose from 282 cases in 2023 to 303 cases in 2024.