Jimbos Protocol to Work With U.S. Homeland Security to Help Recover $7.5M From Flash Loan Exploit

The team is opening more cases in other jurisdictions and offering a roughly $800,000 bounty to the general public for information on the exploiter.

AccessTimeIconMay 31, 2023 at 8:55 p.m. UTC
Updated Jun 2, 2023 at 2:34 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Developers of Jimbos Protocol, an Arbitrum-based application, said Wednesday they opened up a case with the New York branch of the Department of Homeland Security to arrest the attacker who exploited the protocol for millions of dollars this past weekend.

“We warned you. We’d prefer giving you the bounty so we can focus on our protocol. Instead, we will deal with law enforcement to find you,” the Jimbos team wrote to the attacker on Twitter, after giving them several days to return 90% of the stolen funds. “The door remains open for the hacker to return the funds until they are arrested, at which point the offer will be rescinded.”

The recent move to work with the Department of Homeland Security comes three days after Jimbos faced a $7.5 million flash loan exploit and about two weeks after the protocol’s official launch date.

In addition to collaborating with law enforcement in the United States, the team is currently opening more cases in other jurisdictions and is offering a 10% bounty worth about $800,000 to the general public for anyone who provides information that leads to catching the exploiter and funds being returned.

“We have a good idea who it is,” said blockchain sleuth Ogle, who is part of the recovery process and has helped with the Euler Finance exploit. “I think they end up speaking, keeping their 10%, and returning the rest — it’s a win for everybody and makes the most sense. Only an idiot would try to keep the rest, but risk prison for years and losing all of the money.”

Edited by Nelson Wang.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Sage D. Young

Sage D. Young was a tech protocol reporter at CoinDesk. He owns a few NFTs, gold and silver, as well as BTC, ETH, LINK, AAVE, ARB, PEOPLE, DOGE, OS, and HTR.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.