Blockchain data shows that as the price of Ethereum rises, the value of funds stolen from the decentralized lending platform Radiant Capital in October 2024 has nearly doubled.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Radiant Capital was hacked in mid-October 2024, suffering a $58 million cybersecurity breach on the cross-chain lending protocol on the BNB Chain and Arbitrum.
Radiant Capital lost approximately $58 million in this breach. According to Lookonchain data, the attacker later converted the proceeds into Ethereum (ETH) and currently holds 21,957 ETH, valued at about $103 million, a significant increase from the estimated $58 million at the time of the breach.
Ethereum closed at over $2,300 on October 15, 2024, and as of the time of writing, it was trading above $4,700 on Thursday.
The investigation team from blockchain forensics company AMLBot told Cointelegraph that although the attacker ultimately profited, this transaction was likely an unintended consequence of evasion techniques. "It is more likely that the attacker’s decision to hold ETH was based on operational security and liquidity considerations rather than a deliberate market timing strategy," the AMLBot team stated.
Investigators noted that attackers tend to convert stolen funds into Bitcoin (BTC) or ETH for two reasons: to reduce the risk of token freezing and because Bitcoin and Ethereum already have high liquidity market infrastructure and broad support, making them easier to transfer across ecosystems.
"Considering these patterns, the holding of ETH benefits from broader market growth rather than a conscious bet on price appreciation investment, which makes more sense," the investigators concluded.
The rise in Ethereum's price since the breach is attributed to several factors.
Ethereum spot ETFs began trading in the U.S. at the end of July 2024—ending a year of trading—according to CoinGlass data, with a total net inflow of $12.12 billion to date.
This data also shows that large-scale accumulation through regulatory means has been ongoing, leading to a reduction in the amount of Ethereum on exchanges. Due to staking, more assets are exiting circulation, with a report from mid-June showing that the supply of staked Ethereum reached a historic high of over 35 million ETH. The latest data from Dune Analytics shows that this number now exceeds 36 million ETH.
Another factor is the corporate ETH treasury. According to a report released at the end of July, these companies had over $100 billion worth of Ethereum in their treasuries at that time.
The regulatory tone has also shifted, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deciding in June 2024 to drop its investigation into whether ETH is a security.
Carol Goforth, a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, stated at the time that the dismissal of the case indicated that the agency lacked confidence in persuading the court that ETH is a security.
Ethereum also launched the Dencun upgrade a few months before the hacker enriched their treasury. This update includes Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844, which introduces danksharding and proto-danksharding, significantly improving network scalability and layer two support.
Ethereum's layer two ecosystem is also growing, with daily transaction volumes reaching 12.42 million on August 12, 2024.
This growth continues, with GrowThePie data showing that Ethereum's layer two protocols processed nearly 13.88 million transactions that day. Previous peaks had exceeded 16 million transactions in a single day.
Related: Reports indicate that Vietnamese police have cracked a multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme behind Paynet Coin.
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