U.S. Authorities Seize $31 Million in Crypto Related to Uranium Finance Hack

U.S. authorities have seized about $31 million in cryptocurrency linked to the 2021 hack of Uranium Finance, as per a post from the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on X.

The seizure stemmed from collaboration between SDNY and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego. A spokesperson from SDNY did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comments, and no further details about the seizure or any related investigations were immediately available.

Uranium Finance operated as a clone of the automated market maker (AMM) Uniswap, deployed on the Binance Smart Chain (now termed Binance’s BNB chain). In April 2021, a hacker exploited a flaw in Uranium’s pair contracts, siphoning off $50 million in various tokens. At that time, this hack ranked among the largest exploits in decentralized finance (DeFi) history.

Post-exploit, the hacker attempted to launder some stolen funds through various methods, including utilizing the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, depositing small amounts into centralized exchanges, and reportedly purchasing rare and valuable Magic: The Gathering trading cards, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT.

After the breach, Uranium Finance ceased operations, leaving many victims without answers or compensation. This partial recovery, nearly four years post-attack, presents the first ray of hope for victims to reclaim some of their lost funds.