{"id":8679,"date":"2022-02-22T22:34:25","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T22:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/journalist-alleges-mimo-capital-co-founder-was-behind-2016-exploit-of-the-dao-report\/"},"modified":"2022-02-22T22:34:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T22:34:27","slug":"journalist-alleges-mimo-capital-co-founder-was-behind-2016-exploit-of-the-dao-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/journalist-alleges-mimo-capital-co-founder-was-behind-2016-exploit-of-the-dao-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist alleges Mimo Capital co-founder was behind 2016 exploit of The Dao: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Laura Shin, a cryptocurrency journalist and host of the Unchained Podcast, claimed to have discovered the identity of the individual behind an exploit which drained more than 3.6 million Ether from Germany-based startup Slock.it\u2019s The DAO in 2016.<\/p>\n

According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, Shin claimed that she had \u201cextremely strong evidence\u201d that Mimo Capital co-founder Toby Hoenisch was responsible for removing more than 3.6 million Ether (ETH) from The DAO in June 2016 \u2014 roughly $50 million at the time. An unknown hacker used an exploit to drain roughly a third of The DAO\u2019s ETH supply, forcing developers to hard fork the network and leaving the illicit funds in what became the Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain.<\/p>\n

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EXCLUSIVE:
With the publication of my book today, I can finally announce: in the course of writing my book, my sources and I believe we uncovered the identity of the Ethereum’s 2016 DAO hacker.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Laura Shin (@laurashin) February 22, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shin\u2019s research conducted with Ethereum developer Alex Van de Sande and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis alleged that Hoenisch was aware of the exploit weeks before the attack occurred on June 17, 2016. According to Van de Sande, the hacker used<\/a> crypto exchange Shapeshift to convert the pilfered ETC \u2014 following the hard fork \u2014 to Bitcoin (BTC). They believe the attacker then use crypto wallet Wasabi to mix the BTC, four \u201cdifferent central exchanges\u201d to further launder the funds, and finally privacy-focused cryptocurrency Grin \u201cfor added privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chainalysis said it was able to de-mix the crypto transactions and trace the funds to exchanges that later received the tokens in accounts allegedly managed by Hoenisch. The firm added<\/a> that \u201cthis is yet another example of evidence preserved on the blockchain forever.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI have no pity on Toby Hoenisch, if he is truly the guy,\u201d said<\/a> Van de Sande. \u201cThat period was stressful for all of us, we almost saw everything we had build fracture and fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mimo Capital co-founder has reportedly denied Shin\u2019s allegations, calling her findings “factually inaccurate.” In Mimo\u2019s Telegram on Tuesday, community manager Thomas Reinhardt said Hoenisch has \u201chad no active role in the day-to-day operations\u201d of the platform since its early days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe content of these accusations is as surprising to us as they are to the community, and we remain committed to providing the best and the safest Euro stable token DeFi platform for our users,\u201d said Reinhardt. <\/p>\n

Mimo Capital co-founder Toby Hoenisch. Source: LinkedIn<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Had developers not acted to hard fork the network, the original 3.6 million ETH tokens would have been worth more than $9 billion at the time of publication. However, with the ETC price roughly 10% that of ETH, the stolen funds are estimated to be worth roughly $94 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine a number of people who have used [Wasabi] for illicit purposes are feeling insecure today,\u201d said Shin. \u201cThis may get them wondering if blockchain forensics will catch up to them later, even if they use the latest crypto obfuscation techniques today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n