Unizen announces user reimbursement after $2.1M hack

DeFi protocol, Unizen, has committed to reimbursing users following a security breach that led to the loss of approximately $2.1 million in user funds. The breach was detected on March 9 by blockchain analytics firm PeckShield, which identified an “approve issue” that allowed unauthorized withdrawals from the platform. 

Following PeckShield’s alert, security experts at SlowMist confirmed the extent of the losses to be around $2.1 million and observed that the stolen funds had been converted from Tether (USDT) to Dai (DAI).

Unizen communicates with hacker

In response to the breach, Unizen immediately communicated directly with the hacker, proposing a 20% bounty for the return of the remaining stolen assets. Concurrently, the protocol has been coordinating with law enforcement and forensic experts to trace the attacker’s identity. Despite ongoing negotiations for the bounty, Unizen moved forward with plans to compensate the hack’s victims, announcing that reimbursements would begin on March 11. 

The protocol aims to cover losses for 99% of affected users, especially those who lost $750,000 or less, using funds loaned by Unizen founder and CEO Sean Noga.

The compensation will be distributed in USDT or USD Coin (USDC), starting immediately, with a case-by-case approach for losses exceeding $750,000. Alongside the reimbursement announcement, Unizen released a video tutorial advising users on how to revoke platform approvals to prevent future losses. Chief Technology Officer Martin Granström has stated that enough evidence has been collected for a post-mortem report and highlighted ongoing collaborations with third-party firms to enhance security measures.