Shiba Inu Development Group Increases Bounty for Stolen Assets
In a dramatic twist within the crypto sphere, the Shiba Inu development group has increased the bounty for the return of stolen assets associated with the Shibarium bridge. The new offer stands at 25 ETH, aiming to entice a hacker who pilfered over $700,000 in K9 Finance DAO (KNINE) tokens. This revised proposal comes after the hacker rejected previous offers of 5 and 20 ETH, while initially demanding a steep bounty of 50 ETH.
Transparent Negotiations on the Ethereum Blockchain
The ongoing negotiation between the Shiba Inu team and the hacker is uniquely transparent, conducted entirely on the Ethereum blockchain, where all interactions—including rejections and proposals—are permanently etched. The saga started when K9 Finance DAO attempted to recover the stolen tokens by offering an initial sum of 5 ETH, which the hacker quickly dismissed, calling for the establishment of a 50 ETH bounty contract instead.
Responding to this demand, K9 Finance DAO, along with Shiba Inu developers, arranged a smart contract that included another offer of 20 ETH. However, the hacker rejected this as well, leading to the current final offer of 25 ETH, which is notably closer to what the hacker originally requested.
Clarification of the Latest Bid
“25 ETH, final offer. This is Shib offering more funds. Not K9 DAO,”
underscoring the potential impact on victims, characterized as “ordinary, hardworking people who trusted the Shib ecosystem.”
The Hacker’s Dilemma
The situation has now firmly placed the decision in the hands of the hacker, who faces a stark choice: accept this new offer or retain tokens that K9 Finance DAO has made unusable by blacklisting them. The tokens are effectively rendered illiquid, meaning they cannot be traded on any reputable decentralized or centralized platforms, a fact made clear by the Shiba Inu team in their message, which stated that the “blacklisted tokens are currently useless to you.”
Facilitating the Recovery Process
The recovery process utilizes a smart contract designed to facilitate a trustless exchange. The hacker would need to permit the contract to transfer the frozen KNINE tokens, after which the Shiba Inu developers could execute a function allowing them to reclaim the stolen assets while simultaneously releasing the ETH bounty in a seamless, single transaction.
Conclusion and Community Scrutiny
Despite this recourse, the Shiba Inu team’s patience seems to be waning, as indicated by their conclusion, which read:
“Do the smart thing and collect what you can. We are ready to walk away.”
As the crypto community scrutinizes these developments, the hacker must now weigh the option of accepting half of their original demand against the futility of holding onto assets that are now without value.
