A white hat hacker has recovered approximately $2 million worth of ETH locked in a faulty 2016 HongCoin ICO smart contract. The bug prevented 48 original investors from reclaiming their funds for nine years. The hacker exploited an integer overflow vulnerability to unlock the Ether, which can now be claimed by the investors.
The HongCoin ICO in 2016 failed to reach its funding goal, and the smart contract was designed to automatically refund investors. However, a bug in the refund function prevented this, locking the Ether for nearly a decade. This situation highlights the risks associated with early-stage cryptocurrency projects and smart contract vulnerabilities, demonstrating that even old, seemingly inaccessible funds can sometimes be recovered.
The HongCoin ICO in 2016 failed to reach its funding goal, and the smart contract was designed to automatically refund investors. However, a bug in the refund function prevented this, locking the Ether for nearly a decade. This situation highlights the risks associated with early-stage cryptocurrency projects and smart contract vulnerabilities, demonstrating that even old, seemingly inaccessible funds can sometimes be recovered.