Wormhole Airdrop Blunder: Hackers Receive Tokens in Error

During its recent airdrop, cross-chain protocol Wormhole mistakenly allocated tokens to wallets linked to hackers involved in its 2022 exploit. Over 31,600 W tokens, valued at $38,000, were initially distributed to these addresses but have since been removed. This incident highlights the importance of thorough due diligence in airdrop distribution, as even reputable projects can overlook potential security risks.

Cross-Chain Protocol Wormhole Airdrop Controversy: Tokens Erroneously Distributed to 2022 Exploit Wallet Addresses

Wormhole, a prominent cross-chain protocol, has inadvertently allocated tokens to wallet addresses associated with the hackers responsible for a major exploit in 2022 during its recent airdrop event.

The oversight was discovered by Pland, a pseudonymous crypto enthusiast, who identified addresses on the project's eligibility checker that were linked to the exploit. Approximately four addresses connected to the hack received a combined allocation of over 31,600 W tokens, valued at approximately $38,000.

An anonymous source close to the situation has confirmed that while the tokens were initially distributed to these addresses, they have since been removed. The affected addresses are believed to belong to the hacker group that siphoned approximately 120,000 ETH from Wormhole in 2022, representing a value of approximately $323 million at the time. This exploit remains one of the largest in the history of decentralized finance.

Wormhole's airdrop event, which garnered significant attention within the cryptocurrency industry, has witnessed an impressive volume of W token trading, exceeding $1.25 billion since its inception, according to data provided by CoinGecko.

Despite the initial allocation to the exploit-linked addresses, the value of W tokens has experienced fluctuations throughout the day, reaching a peak of $1.66 before settling at approximately $1.21 at the time of this report.

Wormhole has yet to issue an official statement regarding the erroneous distribution of tokens to the hacker wallets. The incident highlights the importance of rigorous security measures and thorough due diligence in cross-chain protocol operations.