It sounds like the name of a Blockbuster movie, but this isn't one you'll find in cinemas any time soon, this one actually happened!! You may have heard by now that hackers were able to steal a whopping $600+MILLION in crypto assets from decentralised exchange, Poly. I's important to note, this is NOT Polygon Matic, this is a completely separate entity, Poly was built by the same founder that brought us the popular network, NEO just a few years ago. It's also very important to note that it wasn't the blockchain that was hacked, it was the exchange itself, leaving blockchain technology the undisputed champion of security. So how did this hack take place? The hacker/s exploited a vulnerability in the network's code that allowed them to make the number of centralised admins 1 and appoint themselves, this allowed them free reign over the network and it's DeFi liquidity pool which the assets were transferred from. This is a huge eye opener for centralised exchanges, if they hold power over your funds, someone can take that power and use it to their advantage; if this was a decentralised exchange however, the power is in the hands of each and every node which can't possibly be hacked. Another 'red flag' for centralised power was the fact that Tether, in a bid to help stop the assets from being transferred further, froze the share of the assets that were on their network, over $44million worth; some may see this as a good thing but it shows how centralised projects like this have the power to freeze your assets at will and decided upon by those in power....this is NOT what crypto is about.
The attack on Poly should serve as a wake up call to us all, particularly the newcomers to crypto, those of us who have been around long enough know the importance of vetting investment opportunities, knowing that the right ones will be around for the end game. So what should you learn from this hack? Any project can offer DeFi, swapping, NFTs, anything really, but do they have the security in place and a trusted system to hold your assets without any threat of attack? We've seen so many new projects, particularly meme tokens, say they're going to offer something of the sort to make themselves look viable, having a "real world use".....but can you REALLY trust their network to keep YOUR investment secure? Check out our blog, 7 Steps To Tell If A Crypto Is Legitimate to see how you can check any project you want to trust with your future in crypto.
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