Shiba Inu Issues Final 25 ETH Bounty to Shibarium Bridge Hacker
The Shiba Inu development team has escalated its recovery efforts with a final bounty offer. The team now proposes 25 ETH to the hacker behind the Shibarium bridge exploit after previous offers of 5 ETH and 20 ETH were rejected. This marks the third and conclusive attempt to negotiate the return of stolen KNINE tokens.
The attacker extracted approximately $2.3 million in crypto assets through a flash loan attack in September. The hacker artificially boosted their stake to gain control over validators. They seized 10 out of 12 validator keys to submit fraudulent exit requests. The breach resulted in unauthorized withdrawals of Ethereum, SHIB, ROAR, and KNINE tokens from the bridge.
Shibarium Hacker Demands Higher Bounty Payment
The hacker rejected initial proposals and demanded 50 ETH through an on-chain message. This public standoff has played out entirely on the Ethereum blockchain. Every message between developers and the attacker remains permanently recorded and visible to the crypto community.
K9 Finance DAO made the first offer at 5 ETH. The proposal exceeded the standard 10% white hat bounty commonly offered in similar situations. The hacker ignored this initial attempt at resolution. A second smart contract deployment raised the bounty to 20 ETH. The attacker declined this amount as well.
Blacklisted Tokens Leave Shibarium Hacker with Limited Options
K9 Finance blacklisted the hacker’s wallet shortly after the exploit, rendering 248 billion stolen KNINE tokens completely unsellable. The frozen assets hold no value on legitimate decentralized or centralized exchanges. This strategic move puts significant pressure on the attacker.
The Shiba Inu team’s latest message emphasized that the blacklisted tokens are currently useless and declared they are ready to walk away from negotiations. Developers stressed that real money was taken from people who trusted the ecosystem. The ultimatum presents the hacker with a clear choice between accepting half their demand or holding worthless digital assets.
Recovery Contract Offers Trustless Exchange for Stolen Tokens
The bounty smart contract requires the exploiter to grant permission to transfer the frozen KNINE tokens before any exchange occurs. The technical setup ensures an atomic transaction. Once the hacker provides on-chain approval, the team can execute a function that simultaneously withdraws the stolen tokens and releases the ETH reward.
Lead developer Shytoshi Kusama confirmed the establishment of a war room following the September attack. A dedicated team coordinates all recovery efforts for the compromised assets. This demonstrates the project’s commitment to protecting user funds and ecosystem integrity.
Shibarium Security Upgrades Prevent Future Bridge Exploits
The Shiba Inu developers released a new bridge version that offers enhanced security and stronger loss prevention features. The updated bridge includes functionality that blocks suspicious addresses from participating. Bad actors will now face immediate bans from exploiting the infrastructure.
Developers disabled the legacy RPC endpoint as part of the security overhaul and integrated new anti-hack protocols. The network underwent a temporary shutdown to facilitate these critical improvements. These measures aim to eliminate single points of failure.
Community Response to Shibarium Hacker Bounty Negotiations
Shiba Inu developer Kaal Dhairya publicly urged the hacker to accept the offer, advising them to take the free cash before it expires. He encouraged the exploiter to do something right by accepting the increased bounty. His sarcastic messaging reflects the community’s frustration with the prolonged standoff.
The crypto community watches these events unfold through transparent on-chain communications. This public negotiation sets a precedent for how projects handle post-exploit recovery. Affected users continue to wait for updates on potential reimbursements. The development team has not announced a timeline for compensating victims.
Conclusion
The Shiba Inu team’s final 25 ETH bounty offer represents a calculated attempt to recover stolen assets. The blacklisted KNINE tokens remain worthless to the hacker. The choice now lies between accepting the current proposal or losing everything. The outcome will influence how the crypto industry approaches similar exploits and recovery negotiations moving forward.
