Poly Network
One of the largest and weirdest cryptocurrency heists of all time is the story of Poly Network. On August 10, the exchange was reportedly hacked, leading to a loss of approximately $600 million of investors’ money—one of the biggest windfall thefts in crypto history. Poly’s leadership frantically put together an online missive in which they begged the hacker for their money back. “Dear Hacker,” the letter hilariously began—and went on to plead with the anonymous token robber for a safe “return [of] the hacked assets.”
The letter was largely greeted with derision and bemused sympathy online, and nobody actually believed that the stolen money would ever be seen again. However, Poly’s tactic worked! The hacker, whoever the hell they are, began returning the stolen funds—later claiming in blockchain-inscribed memos that they had only ever hacked the exchange “for fun” and to reveal a glaring security hole in Poly’s system. By the end of August, the thief had reportedly returned the entirety of the massive haul.
