According to recent blockchain data, it seems Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), has been awarded a portion of the recent exploit involving Optimism and Wintermute.
The blockchain data of the security firm PeckShield shows that the wallet of the exploiter of the 20 million OP has sent 1 million of the tokens to Buterin’s wallet.
Read Also: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Praises Optimism for Its Governance Model
PeckShield tweeted, “#PeckShieldAlert ~1m $OP transferred to Vitalik Buterin from Wintermute/OP exploiters.”
#PeckShieldAlert ~1m $OP transfered to @VitalikButerin from Wintermute/OP exploiters https://t.co/U1c2MyeObE pic.twitter.com/wdLOd0XveC
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) June 9, 2022
The funds are worth about $874,000 at the time of press. This comes after the exploiter sold 1 million of the stolen tokens.
Additionally, the exploiter delegated the voting rights for the sent tokens to Yoav Weiss – a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation.
How the 20 Million OP Transaction Flop Happened
It can be recalled that Optimism recently completed its airdrop of the OP token, which provided OP to the earliest and most dedicated users of the layer 2 network. Over 50% of eligible addresses have now claimed their tokens.
Read Also: Vitalik Buterin Received Millions of LUNA 2.0 Tokens from Scammers Who Faked the Token Airdrop
On Wednesday 8th of June 2022, Optimism intended to send 20 million OP tokens to the crypto market maker Wintermute. However, Wintermute’s transaction mistake involving layer 2 complexities cause them to lose access to the tokens.
After the error occurred, an attacker claimed the OP tokens, and all efforts to reach him have been abortive.
Wintermute has now taken full responsibility for the loss and even said they were impressed by the attacker’s performance.
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