Sturdy Finance, a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol, has recently been a victim of an exploit. In an interesting turn of events, the team has pledged not to pursue any further action against the perpetrators provided the stolen funds are given back.
In a statement on Twitter, the founder of Sturdy Finance, Sam Forman, mentioned that their team has communicated an offer to the individual or group responsible for the exploit. The offer includes a bounty of $100,000 if the entirety of the misappropriated funds is returned to the protocol.
Emphasizing the challenges hackers face today, the team noted, “Given the recent episodes of breaches in the crypto sphere, it’s becoming evident that evading detection post-exploitation isn’t as straightforward as before.” The team further extended an olive branch to the exploiter, suggesting that they can get in touch with the Sturdy Finance team for a discussion.
Following an alert from the blockchain security firm PeckShield on Monday, which informed the public of an exploit, the Sturdy Finance team issued their statement. PeckShield noted the potential issue seemed to be “related to price manipulation.”
Sturdy Finance suffered a significant loss from this breach, approximately $800,000, equivalent to 442 ETH. In response, the protocol took immediate action by freezing its markets and went on to reassure its community that further funds remained secure.
Offering bounties in exchange for the return of stolen assets has yielded varying outcomes in the DeFi space. Some exploiters, tempted by the bounties, have decided to strike deals and return the stolen assets, while others have ignored the offers and kept the funds.
A notable case in March involved the Euler Finance protocol. The individuals responsible for exploiting the protocol surprisingly agreed to a deal and returned crypto assets worth $100 million to the protocol.
However, such goodwill is not always reciprocated. In contrast, the individuals who executed a $7.5 million exploit against the Arbitrum-based Jimbos Protocol in May have held onto their ill-gotten gains, despite the Jimbos Protocol team’s willingness to negotiate a deal for the funds’ return.
