• Blockchain security firm CertiK has frozen around $160,000 stolen during the Merlin DEX rug pull.
• The theft resulted in a loss of $1.8 million and was orchestrated by the back-end team.
• CertiK is working with law enforcement and taking steps to improve audit reports so that users have a complete picture of potential risks.
Merlin DEX Rug Pull
Blockchain security firm CertiK has revealed that it has frozen around $160,000, which was stolen during the Merlin DEX rug pull last week. Merlin, a zkSync-based decentralized exchange, fell victim to an insider rug pull, resulting in a loss of $1.8 million.
Stolen Funds Blocked
The blockchain security firm and smart contract auditor shared the news of the freezing of funds via its official Twitter handle. According to CertiK, they tried to reach out and collaborate with members of the Merlin team but were unwilling to verify their identities leading to complications in efforts to aid victims of the rug pull. They are now focusing on working with law enforcement and have submitted information to relevant US & UK agencies as well as successfully freezing $160K of stolen funds with help from partners.
The Merlin Rugpull
Merlin tweeted on its official handle that the rug pull was orchestrated by its back-end team, adding that it had put a high degree of trust in the team and would continue to support victims and help resolve the issue. CertiK also took on some blame stating they failed to adequately inform users about centralization risks and will now prioritize this area in audit summaries going forward so that users have a full picture or potential risks when using such services.
Improvement To Audits
CertiK is working towards improving clarity within audit summaries as they can be highly technical documents and difficult for non-experts to understand fully without extra explanation or breakdowns into simpler language or bullet points where possible.. Going forward they will prioritize centralization risks within these summaries more clearly for user benefit.
Continued Efforts
The blockchain security firm is continuing their efforts by monitoring all stolen funds movements in order try freeze them again an recover any remaining amounts lost due to this incident involving Merlin’s insiders abusing owner wallet privileges for personal gain at other people’s expense unfortunately