Loopscale Hacker Seeks Bounty to Return Stolen $5.8 Million in Crypto

The hacker behind Loopscale’s $5.8 million exploit is negotiating to return stolen funds for a 20% bounty. Approximately 5.7 million USDC and 1,200 SOL tokens were stolen, resulting in a temporary pause of lending services. Although loan repayments have resumed, vault withdrawals remain restricted as investigations continue.

In a surprising turn of events, the hacker responsible for a recent $5.8 million exploit on Loopscale is reportedly discussing the possibility of returning the stolen assets for a bounty. The Solana-based protocol was hit hard on April 26 when approximately 5.7 million USDC and 1,200 SOL tokens were stolen from two of its yield vaults, prompting an immediate suspension of its lending services.

Following the attack, the hacker communicated via the Etherscan blockchain, expressing a willingness to negotiate a repayment for the stolen funds. As per Loopscale’s statement on April 27, they received a message from the attacker about a potential white hat agreement, suggesting a 20% bounty in return for the assets. The hacker committed to returning 5,000 wSOL immediately after sending the message, highlighting a somewhat cooperative approach.

Negotiations continue regarding the recovery of the remaining stolen assets, made public through the Etherscan communications. It’s worth noting that in the broader context, Web3 platforms do sometimes offer bounties for returned funds, yet only a minimal amount of the over $1.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency was recovered in the first quarter of 2025, raising concerns.

The exploit specifically targeted Loopscale’s USDC and SOL vaults, with industry estimates indicating that losses equate to roughly 12% of the total value locked in the platform, according to co-founder Mary Gooneratne. Since the incident, while lending was briefly halted, services have gradually resumed, allowing loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing to be re-enabled. However, other functionalities, including vault withdrawals, remain temporarily suspended as investigations into the incident are still ongoing.

Launched only recently on April 10, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol with aspirations of enhancing capital efficiency by directly connecting lenders and borrowers. It also promotes unique lending markets, such as structured credit and undercollateralized lending, making its recent troubles particularly concerning for the newly established platform.