Euler Finance hack
The Ethereum lending protocol Euler Finance lost about $197M in a March 2023 flash-loan attack exploiting a flawed 'donate' function. After weeks of on-chain negotiation, the attacker returned essentially all of the recoverable funds.
Also known as: Euler Finance, Euler
Summary
Euler Finance, a permissionless lending protocol on Ethereum, was exploited on March 13, 2023 for roughly $197 million in DAI, USDC, staked ETH, and wrapped BTC — the largest DeFi hack of the year to that point. Analysts said the attacker used flash loans to exploit a flaw in a donateToReserve function that allowed an account to be pushed into an unhealthy state and self-liquidated for profit. [1][2]
Recovery
Over the following weeks, the attacker — communicating via on-chain messages and identifying as "Jacob" — returned the funds in stages; with ETH's price rising during negotiations, the returned value reached about $240 million, and Euler said it had recovered all of the recoverable stolen assets. A small amount sent to Tornado Cash and to a North Korea-linked address was not recovered. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
- MunchablesRelatedProjectsA Web3 game on the Blast network drained of about $62.5M in March 2024 by one of its own developers — an insider whom investigators (ZachXBT) linked to North Korea. After negotiations, the developer returned all of the funds without a ransom.
- Poly Network hackRelatedProjectsA cross-chain protocol exploited for about $611M in August 2021 — one of the largest DeFi thefts ever. Unusually, the attacker (dubbed 'Mr. White Hat') returned nearly all of the funds over the following days.
People & entities involved
Sources (2)
See also
- Loci (LOCIcoin)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Crowd Machine (CMCT)Tokens
This page was last updated on Jun 8, 2026. View revision history.