US Charges Individual with Hacking Decentralized Crypto Exchange

A US national has been charged with hacking the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uranium Finance, causing it to shut down. Jonathan Spalletta allegedly exploited smart contract vulnerabilities in 2021 to drain large amounts of cryptocurrency.

The indictment alleges that Spalletta first hacked the exchange on April 8, 2021, using the protocol's reward distribution system to withdraw approximately $1.4 million. He then extorted Uranium to allow him to keep some of the funds as a fake bug bounty reward and returned roughly $1 million.

On April 28, Spalletta exploited another smart contract vulnerability in Uranium to steal approximately $53.3 million in cryptocurrency across 26 liquidity pools, effectively draining the exchange and causing it to shut down.