Antpool Vows to Reimburse User in High-Stakes Bitcoin Hack Case

Antpool, the prominent mining pool, has acknowledged that a user claimed to lose 139 bitcoins in a hack, where they mistakenly used 83.65 BTC as an elevated fee for expedited mining.

Antpool, the leading mining pool by hashrate, announced its willingness to reimburse the inadvertently paid fee and set a deadline of December 10, 2023, for the individual to reclaim it. The incident unfolded when the cryptocurrency community noticed an unusually high transaction fee, exceeding $3 million, transmitted to miners in block 818,087, processed by Antpool. The user, who reported the compromised bitcoin holdings on social media, provided a signature to verify their claim using the private keys.

Antpool, in a statement on November 30, explained that the risk control system temporarily froze the fee during transaction packaging, emphasizing its commitment to refund the address owner upon identity verification before the specified deadline. This request highlights the potential concern that the alleged victim might actually be the perpetrator if the hacker retains access to the private keys.

Clever Robot News Desk 2^nd December 2023