- The Verus bridge exploiter returned 4,052.4 ETH, worth about $8.5M, to the team wallet.
- The attacker kept 1,350 ETH, valued at nearly $2.8M, under Verus’ proposed bounty terms.
- The May 18 breach drained ETH, USDC, and tBTC before assets were swapped into 5,402 ETH.
An attacker linked to the recent Verus network exploit returned 4,052.4 ETH, worth about $8.5 million, to the project’s wallet. The transfer followed a settlement offer from Verus’ core contributors, who asked the exploiter to return 75% of the stolen assets within 24 hours.
Attacker Returns 75% After Verus Settlement Offer
PeckShield said the returned funds represented 75% of the total stolen from the Verus bridge incident. The remaining 1,350 ETH, worth about $2.8 million, stayed in the attacker’s wallet as a bounty.
The Verus team had earlier said it would treat the retained funds as a bounty if the larger portion was returned on time. The team also said the community would stop investigations, avoid pressing charges, and avoid extralegal action.
According to the available on-chain data, the attacker later moved the remaining funds to a new wallet address. The Verus team, however, had not publicly acknowledged the return at press time.
How the Verus Bridge Exploit Unfolded
The Verus-Ethereum bridge was compromised on May 18 at 11:55 p.m. UTC, and the attacker took ETH, USDC, and tBTC from the Ethereum contract.
Blockaid estimated total losses at $11.58 million. PeckShield reported that the bridge was drained of 103.6 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC. The stolen assets were later swapped into 5,402 ETH, worth about $11.4 million at the time. That amount formed the basis for the later 75% return and 25% bounty split.
Following the exploit, Verus said it was working to harden the bridge, conduct additional audits, and develop a plan for affected funds. The team described the response as a decentralized community effort without venture capital backing.
Bridge Attacks Keep DeFi Security in Focus
The Verus recovery came during a wider wave of cross-chain incidents. MAPO recently fell 96% after attackers exploited the Butter Network bridge and minted unauthorized tokens.
Echo Protocol also paused cross-chain activity after an attacker minted about $76.7 million in unauthorized eBTC on Monad. Investigators said the fake eBTC was used as collateral before funds moved through Tornado Cash.
Overall, the incidents show how bridge validation failures can create fast-moving losses across DeFi. When checks fail, attackers can drain reserves, mint unsupported assets, or move funds before teams respond.
Related: Echo Protocol Hack Drains $816K After Fake eBTC Mint
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