Unknown Hacker Steals $160 Million from Wintermute Cryptocurrency Market Maker
In September 2022, an unknown hacker stole approximately $160 million from the Wintermute cryptocurrency market maker, making them the largest liquidity supplier in Curve Finance deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. The stolen funds account for 28% of the total amount placed in the liquidity bullet Curve 3Pool. Despite this, the creators of the protocol are unable to control those who use the platform or provide liquidity in the pools due to the unchanged code.
Curve is the largest decentralized crypto-rope (DEX) on Ethereum, with a total blocked value (TVL) of around $4.5 billion. The platform enables users to trade digital assets without intermediaries, selling tokens through liquidity pools, and liquidation suppliers are accrued every time someone uses a pool to exchange tokens.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought Curve as an example of Defi using decentralized systems, such as smart contracts, to provide financial services without the inclusion of traditional financial institutions such as banks or exchanges in April 2023.