Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"48747a0a-a4d2-4bb3-90d7-033e2dc76a7f","kind":"publish","page_slug":"polynetwork","published_at":"2026-05-28T03:28:48.086Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"PolyNetwork","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://neo.org/blog/details/4207","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://neonewstoday.com/general/neo-collaborates-with-switcheo-and-ontology-to-launch-poly-network-a-new-tokenless-and-heterogeneous-interoperability-protocol/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://phemex.com/academy/what-is-poly-network","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly_Network_exploit","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://research.kudelskisecurity.com/2021/08/12/the-poly-network-hack-explained/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://halborn.com/explained-the-poly-network-hack-august-2021/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://slowmist.medium.com/the-root-cause-of-poly-network-being-hacked-ec2ee1b0c68f","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://slowmist.medium.com/the-analysis-and-q-a-of-poly-network-being-hacked-8112a35beb39","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/poly-network-hack-august-2021/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/the-poly-network-hack-600-million-in-crypto-stolen-and-returned-in-24-hours","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/23/poly-network-hacker-returns-remaining-cryptocurrency.html","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/poly-network-hacker-returns-nearly-all-funds-refuses-500k-white-hat-bounty","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://therecord.media/crypto-platform-poly-network-suspends-service-after-hack","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-poly-network-hack-july-2023","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://dedaub.com/blog/poly-network-hack/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2023/07/02/polynetwork-attacker-issues-worthless-billions-in-shib-bnb-busd-in-latest-crypto-hack","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://beincrypto.com/poly-network-exploit-hackers/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://polynetwork.medium.com/the-poly-network-exploit-analysis-b0a77aff6078","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://crypto.news/polynetwork-remains-suspended-24-hours-after-5m-hack/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.quillaudits.com/blog/hack-analysis/poly-network-hack","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://polynetwork.medium.com/notice-of-complete-termination-of-poly-network-services-3470ef78d9d9","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://neonewstoday.com/development/poly-network-announces-complete-termination-of-all-services/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://halborn.com/explained-the-poly-network-hack-august-2021/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://research.kudelskisecurity.com/2021/08/12/the-poly-network-hack-explained/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://dedaub.com/blog/poly-network-hack/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-poly-network-hack-july-2023","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly_Network_exploit","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly_Network_exploit","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/12/07/most-influential-40-polynetwork-hacker","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://therecord.media/crypto-platform-poly-network-suspends-service-after-hack","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/147059/poly-network-attack-conjures-billions-of-dollars-in-tokens-that-did-not-exist","type":"other","url":""}]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Poly Network was a cross-chain interoperability protocol launched in August 2020 by Neo, Ontology, and Switcheo. It suffered two major security breaches: a $610 million exploit in August 2021 (the largest DeFi hack at the time, with funds ultimately returned) and a second exploit in July 2023 in which attackers minted billions in notional value of tokens, extracting an estimated $10–20 million in real assets. The protocol permanently terminated all services on September 30, 2024.","timeline":[{"date":"2020-08-18","event":"Poly Network launched by founding members Neo, Ontology, and Switcheo as a tokenless heterogeneous cross-chain interoperability protocol.","source":""},{"date":"2021-08-10","event":"Attacker exploits access control vulnerability in EthCrossChainManager and EthCrossChainData smart contracts, draining approximately $610 million across Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon — the largest DeFi hack at the time.","source":""},{"date":"2021-08-11","event":"Attacker begins returning stolen funds and claims via embedded on-chain messages that the theft was intended to expose the vulnerability. Poly Network refers to the attacker as 'Mr. White Hat.'","source":""},{"date":"2021-08-13","event":"Approximately $340 million in funds returned; remaining assets moved to a multi-signature address requiring Poly Network cooperation for transfer.","source":""},{"date":"2021-08-25","event":"Final tranche of stolen funds returned. Poly Network confirms all assets recovered. The hacker declines the $500,000 bug bounty.","source":""},{"date":"2021-09-01","event":"Poly Network launches a bug bounty program on Immunefi offering up to $100,000 for critical vulnerabilities.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-02","event":"Second major exploit: attackers allegedly compromise 3 of 4 Relay Chain keeper private keys via Trojan virus or insider action, minting billions in notional-value tokens across 11 chains. Actual realized losses estimated at $10–20 million. Services immediately suspended.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-04","event":"Poly Network publishes post-mortem attributing the 2023 exploit to Trojan-implanted malware in the compilation environment used to generate consensus node keys.","source":""},{"date":"2024-04-01","event":"Poly Network announces it will cease new deployments and transition to support-only mode for existing partners.","source":""},{"date":"2024-09-11","event":"Poly Network publishes notice of complete termination of all services effective September 30, 2024, citing 'changing market landscape.'","source":""},{"date":"2024-09-30","event":"All Poly Network services, including Poly Bridge, permanently shut down.","source":""}]},"v":1}