Crypto Company Offers Massive Bounty to "White Hat Hackers" After Giant Heist

It just wants its money back.

Chaos Theory

A cryptocurrency company is offering millions of dollars to its "white hat hacker friends" after thieves made off with $190 million in what one cybersecurity expert called a "frenzied free for all."

In a Medium post, Nomad — a crypto "bridge" service that allows users to transfer assets from one blockchain to another — said that it would give up to ten percent of the lost cryptocurrency to anyone who recovers at least 90 percent of the funds.

In a Twitter post about the incident, Nomad addressed its "white hat and ethical researcher friends" and implored those who took some or all of the stolen crypto to send it directly to a specific wallet address.

And, perhaps surprisingly, it seems to be working: more than $20 million have already been recovered, The Washington Post reports.

Bounty Hunting

Awarding sizable bounties to white hats for identifying bugs is common practice in the hacking world and has become an increasingly common response to crypto hacks as well.

Nomad just wants its money back — and is offering hackers amnesty.

"Nomad will consider any party who returns at least 90 percent of the funds they hacked to be a white hat," a Twitter update from the company reads, reiterating that it "will not pursue legal action against white hats."

Hack the Future

According to data collected by analytics firm Etherscan, roughly $20 million or 11 percent of the hacked funds have already been returned, which may take the deal off the table.

Nonetheless, it could signal a sea change in the way crypto companies handle hacks — especially given that this is, per the Washington Post, the seventh attack on crypto bridges alone in 2022, and the eighth-largest hack in crypto history.

READ MORE: Crypto ‘bridge’ Nomad offers 10 percent bounty in $190 million hack [The Washington Post]

More on crypto hacks: Crypto CEO Warns That Exchanges Are "Secretly Already Insolvent"