Will the AFX Trade hacker return any stolen funds to AFX before Aug 22, 2026?
26,441 Vol.in 23 days (Aug-22-2026 11:59:00 PM UTC)
DescriptionAFX Trade, an Arbitrum perpetuals DEX, was drained of $24.15M USDC on July 22, 2026 after an attacker compromised the platform's bridge signing keys. AFX publicly offered a limited-time whitehat settlement — return 70% (~$16.9M) and keep 30% (~$7.2M) as a bounty — but the attacker instead began laundering, moving 655.4 ETH into ~18.86 BTC via THORChain.
- This event resolves YES if any on-chain transfer of funds originating from the labeled AFX attacker address(es) reaches AFX Trade's designated returns address 0x222Bd8dbc0d71972f880DAb5D69cdCFD903D9f1B on or before Aug 22, 2026 23:59 UTC.
- This event resolves NO if no such transfer is recorded by the deadline.
- 1. Specificity: Any non-zero value returned counts (USDC, ETH, BTC or other assets) as long as it is a transfer from an attacker-linked address to AFX's designated returns address. A single confirmed transfer resolves YES.
- 2. Exclusion: Circle/stablecoin freezes, law-enforcement seizures held by agencies, or exchange freezes that are NOT delivered to AFX's designated address by the deadline do NOT count as YES. Announcements or negotiation offers without an executed on-chain return do NOT count.
- 3. Source Hierarchy: AFX Trade official statements/X account priority. Arbiscan/Etherscan on-chain records for the labeled attacker cluster and 0x222Bd8dbc0d71972f880DAb5D69cdCFD903D9f1B secondary. Reputable security firms (e.g. PeckShield, Cyvers) tertiary.
- 4. Timing: Must occur before Aug 22, 2026 23:59 UTC. Post-deadline resolves NO.
- 5. Partial fulfillment: A negotiation offer or announcement alone, without an executed on-chain return, resolves NO. If funds are returned then later re-moved, resolution is based on the first confirmed return.
- Sources:
- https://cryptobriefing.com/afx trade-24m-exploit-hacker-bounty/
- https://decrypt.co/374133/arbitrum perp-dex-afx-trade-drained-of-24m-offers-hacker-30-to-return-it
- https://bitcoinworld.co.in/afx trader-hacker-thorchain-swap/