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Verus Cross-Chain Bridge Attacker Returns 4,052 ETH After $11.58 Million Exploit

Verus Cross-Chain Bridge Attacker Returns 4,052 ETH After $11.58 Million Exploit

Blockchain security firm PeckShield states the returned Ether covers about 75% of the funds stolen in the May 18 bridge attack, with roughly 1,350 ETH left in the attacker wallet as a bounty.

ETH

Fact Check
All core figures in the claim are confirmed by primary and credible secondary sources. PeckShieldAlert's X post (2057638728890536262) directly confirms 4,052.4 ETH returned, representing 75% of stolen funds, with 1,350 ETH retained as bounty. The Verus team's own X post (2057465214975492358) confirms the negotiated terms and total stolen amount of ~5,402.4 ETH. The Block and Crypto News independently corroborate all figures. The $11.58M exploit size is attributed to Blockaid's estimate, as cited in The Block article. The claim accurately characterizes the returned ETH as ~75% of stolen funds and correctly identifies ~1,350 ETH as the bounty retained by the attacker. No conflicting evidence was found.
Summary

The attacker behind the Verus cross-chain bridge exploit sent back 4,052.4 ETH, worth about $8.5 million, to a team-controlled address. According to PeckShield (blockchain security firm), the returned Ether represents around 75% of the total stolen in the May 18 attack, which drained about $11.58 million from the bridge. Roughly 1,350 ETH remains in the attacker wallet as a bounty, indicating the team may have effectively allowed the attacker to retain part of the funds. Cross-chain bridges, which move assets between blockchains, have historically been a frequent target for exploits because they concentrate liquidity and rely on complex smart contract (self-executing blockchain code) systems.

Terms & Concepts
  • Cross-chain bridge: A protocol that transfers assets or data between different blockchains, typically by locking tokens on one network and issuing corresponding assets on another.
  • ETH: The native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, commonly used for payments, transaction fees, and smart contract operations.
  • Smart contract: Self-executing blockchain code that automatically carries out programmed actions when preset conditions are met.