Complete Gate Post tasks to upgrade your rank

Credit Ranking

[//]:content-type-MARKDOWN-DONOT-DELETE
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1709691770sdfx.jpeg)
## [TL; DR]
A white hat hacker recovered $1.3 million worth of stolen crypto assets from Blueberry Protocol. 

The same white hat hacker, by the name @ coffeebabe_eth, recovered $5.4 million for Curve Finance in 2023. 

White hat hacking enables DeFi protocols to identify vulnerabilities in their systems

**Keywords**: DeFi protocols, ethical hacker, crypto exploit, DeFi exploit, crypto hackers, white hat hacker, crypto bots attack, crypto losses, crypto ecosystem, crypto threat
## Introduction 
The greatest threat to cryptocurrencies as a form of digital money and store of value is hacking and other forms of cyber thefts like [phishing](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/1425/what-is-phishing-and-how-to-protect-ourselves-from-phishing-attacks "phishing"). Since the early days of digital assets nefarious actors have been stealing crypto assets from investors and blockchain based firms operating in the cryptocurrency sector. Over the years such threats have affected the adoption rate of digital assets. 

The best way to prevent thefts of digital assets is through high infrastructure security and auditing. Nonetheless, crypto projects can also make use of white hat hackers to test their security levels thereby reducing the possibility of Defi exploit. Today, we look at how white hat hackers prevented thefts of crypto assets in the past.
Read also: [What is Sandwich Attack?](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/what-is-a-sandwich-attack/936 "What is Sandwich Attack?")
## Blueberry Protocol under Threat: White Hat Hacker Neutralizes DeFi Exploit on February 23
The Blueberry Protocol, a decentralized platform enabling lending, was attacked on 23 February and was on the verge of incurring crypto losses of 457.6 <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> (ETH), worth about $1.3 million at that time, only to be rescued by a white hat hacker known only as “c0ffeebabe.eth.” 

What led to c0ffeebabe.eth’s intervention was Blueberry Protocol Foundation’s quick response after noticing the DeFi exploit. They quickly notified its customers about the hacking using the X social media platform.  

The team urged the users to withdraw their holdings as soon as they could. Sadly, within a short time the platform’s frontend was inaccessible. Nonetheless, the foundation managed to pause the protocol after about 30 minutes which prevented the malicious actor from further draining the cryptocurrencies. 

Basically, the exploiters had managed to drain <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> (BTC), USDC and <a href="/price/olympus-ohm" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Olympus</a> from lending markets. At that time, all the crypto assets that were in the Blueberry Protocol were under threat. Apart from the team, other alert individuals and organizations helped to disseminate information about the existing crypto threat.
 ![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17096913441.jpeg)
Source: [x.com](https://twitter.com/BlockSecTeam/status/1760876339903558114 "x.com")

As observed in the screenshot, the BlockSecTeam was one of the organization that helped to pass the information to other stakeholders. 

Once the situation was under control and further crypto losses were averted the Blueberry Protocol Foundation assured its users that their holdings were safe. Posting [on X the team said](https://twitter.com/blueberryFDN/status/1760872935982879030 "on X the team said"), “All drained funds were front run by @ coffeebabe_eth and are now safe in the Blueberry multisig, less the validator payment.” 

As the team acknowledged, a white hat hacker (@ coffeebabe_eth) rescued the protocol from the impending crypto losses. The ethical hacker recovered 366 ETH out of a total of 457 Ether which the crypto hackers had drained from the protocol.

At that time, the team said that it was negotiating with the validators to return 91 ETH. It [clarified](https://twitter.com/blueberryFDN/status/1760876257078899016 "clarified"): “Deposited funds are currently safe. Only three markets were affected and the large majority was already returned. Total validator payment (loss) is 91 ETH. We are getting in touch and aim for a full repayment to users as the goal.”

It is important to realize that at the time of the crypto exploit the Blueberry Protocol [had a total value locked (TVL)](https://www.gate.io/de/blog_detail/1471/the-total-value-locked-tvl-of-the-defi-protocols-exceeds-70-billion "had a total value locked (TVL)") of $4.5 million but it decreased to $3.15 million after the unsuccessful DeFi exploit. 

Read also: [What does TVL mean in DeFi?](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/what-does-tvl-mean-in-defi/217 "What does TVL mean in DeFi?")
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17096914992.jpeg)
Blueberry Protocol total value locked (TVL) - [Defillama](https://defillama.com/protocol/blueberry-lend "Defillama")

As you note in the picture, soon after the foiled DeFi exploit the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) fell from $4.5 million to $3.15 million.

## White Hat Hacker, c0ffeebabe.eth, also Rescued Curve Finance in 2023
The ethical hacker, c0ffeebabe.eth, also [rescued Curve Finance in 2023](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/3081/curve-founder-168m-stash-faces-stress "rescued Curve Finance in 2023") when he/she recovered cryptocurrencies worth $5.4 million which malicious hackers had stolen. 

In fact, c0ffeebabe.eth used an Ethereum-arbitrage trading bot to outsmart the attackers and recover the stolen crypto assets. The ethical hacker returned the funds to the team. 
## DeFi Losses of 2023
The Blueberry hacking incident indicates how DeFi protocols are vulnerable to malicious crypto exploitation. For example, in 2023 alone DeFi incurred losses amounting to over $1 billion due to cyber-theft as the following graph indicates. 
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17096915623.jpeg)
DeFi losses for 2023:[ x.com](https://twitter.com/intotheblock/status/1736054070492696827/photo/1 " x.com")

As observed from the diagram, in 2023 DeFi incurred crypto losses amounting to about $1.02 billion. However, that signified a huge decrease from the losses the sector incurred in 2021 and 2022 when the DeFi losses were about $3.96 billion and $53 billion, respectively.
## Why White Hat Hackers Vital to the Crypto Sector? 
As we noted in the cases of Curve Finance and Blueberry Protocol white hat hackers play a big role in preventing and foiling malicious crypto exploits. They use many methods to assist crypto projects to prevent the attacks. 

First, the aim of white hat hackers is to help the crypto ecosystem to improve security systems so as to prevent crypto exploits. In other words, they carry out white-hat hacking, also called ethical hacking or penetration testing. 

In such cases, the owners of the digital projects authorize the white hat hackers to test their systems and suggest ways to  improve them. This is because crypto hackers capitalize on unidentified loopholes or vulnerabilities in the protocols. Primarily, penetration testing minimizes chances of system failures and thefts. 

Although the white hackers use similar tools and techniques as the black hats they have good intentions. For example, they use malicious software and DoS or [DDoS attacks ](https://www.gate.io/bitwiki/detail/152/distributed-denial-of-service-attack--ddos-attack "DDoS attacks ")with the goal of identifying threats [and protecting crypto assets](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/2460/security-measures-at-gateio-protecting-your-digital-assets-in-the-crypto-landscape "and protecting crypto assets").  A white hat, for instance, can use a crypto bots attack. In all, he/she/they hack for the good of the DeFi projects and within the armpits of the law since they are threat-removal agents. 
## Conclusion 
A popular white hat hacker @ coffeebabe_eth foiled a DeFi exploit on 25 February, averting a $1.3 million loss for Blueberry Protocol. The same ethical hacker also recovered over $5.4 million after some crypto hackers exploited Curve Finance in 2023. In general, penetration testing helps to identify loopholes in DeFi systems which reduces the number of hacking incidents. 

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:** Mashell C.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>


简体中文

English

Tiếng Việt

Español

Русский язык

Français

ภาษาไทย

日本語

Indonesia

Deutsch

عربي

Português (Portugal]

Português (Brasil]

繁體中文

Українська

On 25 February a white hat hacker averted a DeFi loss that could have emanated from an exploitation on the Blueberry Protocol.

福利中心

小红花-Learn & Explore-博客

小红花-Learn & Explore-快讯

币圈-币圈-未来事件

小红花-Learn & Explore-聊天室

小红花-Learn & Explore-直播

小红花-Learn & Explore-动态

币圈

Gate OTC

芝麻金融-更多-财富管理

机构-APIs

机构-大宗交易服务

机构-经纪商项目

全球做市商计划

机构-托管和资产管理

机构借贷

机构-做市商项目

小红花-Promotions-机构和VIP服务

量化基金

机构-基础架构

机构-交易

机构-金融

结构化产品

机构-主页

衍生品-统一账户

芝麻金融-更多-抵押借币

vip服务

机构

策略跟单

现货跟单

交易-合约跟单

跟单

量化策略-探索

量化策略-进阶

量化策略-基础

交易-机器人广场

创建机器人

探索机器人

杠杆网格

无限网格

期现套利

组合指标策略

智能调仓

现货马丁格尔

合约网格

现货网格

交易机器人

芝麻金融-更多-ETH2.0挖矿

芝麻金融-更多-法币理财

链上赚币

芝麻金融-理财-双币宝

芝麻金融-理财-定期理财(屯币)

芝麻金融-理财-结构性理财

芝麻金融-理财-理财宝

芝麻金融-理财-余币宝

GT挖矿

芝麻金融-更多（理财产品）

芝麻金融-理财（打新）

launchpool

launchpad

赚币-HODLer Airdrop

candy_drop

web3 Airdrop

赚币

模拟交易

衍生品-期权

衍生品-交割合约

衍生品-永续合约

合约入门

合约活动

衍生品

交易-杠杆ETF

交易-杠杆交易

交易-闪兑

交易-现货交易

交易-创新交易

交易-交易工具

交易-交易类型

交易-盘前交易

交易

行情

买币-gateCard

卖币

买币-快捷交易

买币

买币-paywith

法币定投

小红花-推广

新手指南

活动中心

小红花-Learn & Explore-学院

小红花-Exchange-最新公告

小红花-Exchange-帮助中心

gate商店

小红花-Promotions-邀请计划

小红花-promotions-代理商

储备金

合作伙伴

cextg小程序

小红花

web3

White Hacker Discovers a $1.3 Million DeFi Exploit