U.S. Law Enforcement Seizes $31M in Crypto Tied to Uranium Finance Hack

Hackers made disconnected with astir $50 cardinal erstwhile the automated marketplace shaper was exploited successful 2021.

Updated Feb 24, 2025, 11:19 p.m. UTCPublished Feb 24, 2025, 11:03 p.m. UTC

U.S. authorities person seized astir $31 cardinal successful crypto tied to the 2021 hack of Uranium Finance, according to a Monday X post from the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

According to the post, the seizure was the effect of a associated effort betwixt SDNY and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) successful San Diego. A spokesperson for SDNY did not instrumentality CoinDesk’s petition for remark earlier property time, and nary further details astir the seizure oregon immoderate related probe were instantly available.

Uranium Finance was fundamentally a clone of automated marketplace shaper (AMM) Uniswap deployed connected Binance’s BNB concatenation (then called Binance Smart Chain). In April 2021, a hacker exploited a bug successful Uranium’s brace contracts to bargain $50 cardinal successful assorted tokens. At the clip of the incident, the Uranium Finance hack was 1 of the largest monetary exploits successful decentralized concern (DeFi) history.

Read more: Binance Chain DeFi Exchange Uranium Finance Loses $50M successful Exploit

After the exploit, the hacker attempted to launder a information of the funds successful a assortment of ways, including utilizing crypto mixer Tornado Cash, depositing tiny amounts of crypto into centralized exchanges, and, according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, perhaps done purchasing uncommon and highly invaluable Magic: The Gathering trading cards.

Uranium Finance shuttered aft the hack, leaving victims without answers oregon fiscal restitution. The partial recovery, which comes astir 4 years aft the archetypal attack, offers the archetypal glimmer of anticipation for victims to spot immoderate of their wealth returned.

Cheyenne Ligon

On the quality squad astatine CoinDesk, Cheyenne focuses connected crypto regularisation and crime. Cheyenne is primitively from Houston, Texas. She studied governmental subject astatine Tulane University successful Louisiana. In December 2021, she graduated from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, wherever she focused connected concern and economics reporting. She has nary important crypto holdings.