A cryptocurrency user accidentally lost $25 million by sending re-staken Ethereum tokens on the Renzo platform to a secure module instead of his secure wallet.
Renzo is a liquid re-staking platform designed to facilitate the re-staking process on networks like Ethereum and Solana, allowing users to maximize their earnings. However, in this case, an incorrect transaction led to the funds being locked in a contract that the user cannot access without technical intervention.
In a desperate message on social network X, the user identified as @qklpjeth wrote: “To all hackers and white hats: I have lost a significant amount of funds in a contract and I urgently need help to recover it. I am offering a 10% reward, approximately $2.5 million, to anyone who manages to recover the funds.”
The error was due to an oversight in the transaction process, where the user mistakenly copied and pasted the security module address instead of their wallet address. Under normal circumstances, funds sent to the correct secure wallet address would allow the user to maintain full control over them. However, by being sent to a security module, the tokens are now permanently locked in a contract from which they cannot be extracted without assistance from Renzo's team.
0xngmi, founder of DeFiLlama and a well-known developer in the DeFi space, responded to the post saying that the only solution he sees is for Renzo’s team to update the contract and add a special function that allows the locked funds to be released.
This type of intervention requires a change in the Renzo smart contract architecture, which could take time and direct collaboration from the platform team.
Will Renzo's team intervene?
As of now, Renzo has not issued any official response regarding the incident. The affected user also shared with The Block that the error occurred while he was trying to use a bot to make the transaction, which resulted in the copy-paste error.
that he “literally had a nightmare about a similar bug a few days ago,” highlighting the vulnerability that even experienced developers can face.
This incident highlights the inherent risk of handling large sums of money on re-staking platforms and smart contracts, especially when a simple human error can lead to irreparable losses.
As the crypto community considers possible solutions, the case has sparked a debate about the importance of security measures and the possibilities for intervention in cases of transaction errors.
