On-Chain "Pain Bag" Revelation: A High-Stakes Game of Over $70 Million

The cryptocurrency world in 2024 has experienced many thrilling moments, among which a theft involving over $70 million in assets is enough to provoke deep reflection. This is not just a simple theft case but a complex story showcasing on-chain ecosystem rules, human nature games, and emergency responses.

Why Old Tricks Keep Working

Seemingly low-level attack methods repeatedly succeed, hiding behind human blind spots. Hackers’ approaches are nothing new—pre-generating addresses in bulk, monitoring target wallets on the chain around the clock. Once they detect signals of large asset movements, they immediately send small amounts of funds (industry term: “dust”) to the target, with addresses using nearly indistinguishable fake formats.

When victims review transfer records, they often copy addresses directly from the latest transactions, only verifying the first and last few characters in haste. This time, the victim was a whale controlling 1155 Bitcoin, who, due to a momentary oversight, had assets worth approximately $73 million flow into a phishing trap set by the hacker.

This case reveals a bitter truth: no matter how advanced the technology, it can sometimes be no match for the simplest social engineering attack.

Capital and Wisdom in Counterattack

The moment the assets are lost is technically settled, but the whale’s subsequent actions demonstrate another dimension of capability. Just after the stolen assets disappeared, the whale launched a message on the chain, proposing a bold plan: “You’ve already won. Take 10% as a fee, and the remaining 90% return to me. Let’s go our separate ways.”

The logic behind this proposal reflects a deep understanding of the rules governing the on-chain world. The whale clearly knows that the turning point in negotiations often depends on the balance of information and confidence.

The turning point came with the help of a security firm. This well-known security company publicly announced that it had identified the hacker’s IP address. While this information may not be enough to directly arrest the hacker, it creates a sense of being “exposed,” causing psychological pressure and breaking down the hacker’s mental defenses.

Industry Lessons from the “Pain Bag”

The story ends with a win-win situation—the hacker proactively contacts and confirms the email, then returns the funds in multiple transactions, leaving only about $7 million. This amount is enough to change the hacker’s real life, while for the whale, it’s an acceptable cost.

The entire process reveals a hidden consensus in the current on-chain world. The so-called “white hat bounty” has evolved into a kind of default protocol—victims encourage hackers to return assets voluntarily with a certain percentage of the funds. This mechanism may seem absurd but is based on profound game theory principles.

If victims are overly stingy or remain silent after the theft without making any commitments, hackers might take risks—transferring funds into black hole addresses or locking them permanently—resulting in mutual destruction. From this perspective, the whale’s use of 10% to recover 90% of the assets and gain a profound lesson is already the best solution available.

For the entire ecosystem, this case is a reminder: no matter how large the assets, they cannot offset human negligence. Vigilance on the chain will never be excessive.