Threat actor returns $19.3m to U.S. government wallets

Crypto hackers who exploited US government wallets returned most of the stolen funds within 24 hours of the initial attack.

Are you afraid of Uncle Sam or the good intentions of bad actors?

In a strange turn of events, attackers who stole nearly $20 million from US government addresses returned approximately 88% of the assets to authorities.

As crypto.news reported, hackers breached US government wallets on October 24, illegally moving digital assets such as Ethereum (ETH) seized from crypto crimes such as the $8 billion Bitfinex hack. Within 24 hours, hackers reversed the heist and returned $19.3 million, according to an Oct. 25 post from blockchain sleuths Arkham and ZachXBT.

On-chain data showed that exploiters mostly returned Aave (USDC) worth $13.19 million. The rest is spread across standard USDC tokens and ETH.

𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: $𝟭𝟵𝗠 𝗨𝗦 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗲𝗱

$19.3 million was returned to the US Government address following yesterday’s reported attack, less than 24 hours after the initial address breach.

88% of the seized USD value is now… https://t.co/F8q6iikBrT pic.twitter.com/Vo7I7ZH9K1

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 25, 2024

This situation stunned many community members. Initially, users questioned why anyone would target the US government’s wallets, and the decision to return the funds only led to more speculation. Details on how the hack was carried out are still scant, and the identity of the hacker or possible suspects was unknown at the time of publication.

Some expect the US government to pursue those responsible, as authorities have recently intensified their crackdown on crypto financial crimes.

Federal prosecutors have already filed indictments and charges against Bitfinex hackers, and FBI agents arrested an Alabama man linked to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fake spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF announcement.