DeFi protocol Loopscale reports significant progress in recovering funds stolen during a recent hack. Negotiations with the attacker led to the return of some of the stolen assets.
Details on Loopscale's Internal Incident
In an update on April 29, Loopscale confirmed that approximately 19,463 Wrapped SOL (WSOL) worth about $2.88 million had been returned to its wallets since April 28. The first two returns included 10,000 WSOL (~$1.48 million) and 4,463 WSOL (~$660,000), following an earlier recovery of 5,000 WSOL (~$740,000). "Our pursuit of an amicable resolution regarding Saturday’s incident continues to make progress," the team wrote.
Bounty Offer to the Hacker
On April 27, the Loopscale team stated that they had sent an on-chain message to the hacker, offering them a 10% bounty and a full release of liability in exchange for returning 90% of the stolen funds. The team warned that if no agreement was reached within 24 hours, they would contact law enforcement. At 3:52 PM Eastern Time on April 28, Loopscale announced it had received a response from the hacker indicating a willingness to negotiate for the return in exchange for a bounty.
Security Challenges in DeFi: An Overview
The exploit occurred on April 26 when manipulation of Loopscale’s RateX PT token pricing functions led to the theft of approximately $5.7 million in USDC and 1,200 Solana from its vaults. The stolen amount represented about 12% of the platform’s total funds and affected only depositors, not borrowers. According to a report by PeckShield, hackers stole over $1.6 billion worth of crypto in Q1 2025 from exchanges and on-chain smart contracts.
Thus, Loopscale's current efforts to recover stolen funds show that dialogue with hackers can yield positive results. However, security incidents remain a serious concern for decentralized finance.
