The term "heist" brings to mind masked intruders, ticking clocks and a getaway driver that's never there when you need them, leading to a whole lot of kerfuffle and a tense car chase. Turns out the modern version might be a whole lot faster than Hollywood movies have had us believe, as two US brothers have been charged of stealing $25M worth of ethereum in just 12 seconds.
Anton Peraire-Bueno and his brother, James Peraire-Bueno, have been charged with wire fraud and money laundering in relation to an incident in April 2023 in which $25 million in ethereum cryptocurrency was stolen by a method prosecutors refer to as "the Exploit" (via BBC News).
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say that the computer science and math skills the two developed while studying at MIT university helped them carry out the attack, which relied on exploiting a vulnerability in MEV-boost software. A program used by many ethereum network validators to check new transactions are legitimate.
US Attorney Damian Williams said: "As we allege, the defendants' scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question". Officials also say that the brothers refused to return the funds when confronted by a representative for ethereum, and took further steps to launder their ill-gotten gains.
Cryptocurrency markets have been experiencing something of a surge in value since the start of this year, with ethereum maintaining its position as the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap next to bitcoin.
The news of this heist and the potential blot on the integrity of the ethereum blockchain doesn't seem to have hurt its value, as the currency appears to be holding steady at around $3,000 per coin as of the time of writing, although—crypto being crypto—it could be worth about the same as a bag of chips in the next hour or two. The "future of money", folks. It sure is a rollercoaster!
That being said, while cryptocurrency seems to remain something of a wild west frontier, popular coins like bitcoin and ethereum have previously relied on the perceived stability and security of their networks as a major selling point.
The fact that two individuals were able to defeat the supposedly secure system and transfer such a large sum in such a short amount of time may cause some investors to lose a little sleep, although it doesn't seem to have caused much of a dent in the market as things stand.
Personally, the mere mention of the term ethereum brings back unhappy memories of GPU shortages, the pandemic and endless crypto-boom headlines. Still, the markets continue to rise and fall, and while huge amounts of money remain tied up in crypto networks, they'll always remain a target for those looking to beat the system and make a quick buck.
