According to CryptoPotato, investigations into a multi-million dollar hack on the omnichain tokenization platform Holograph have led to significant developments. French authorities have arrested two individuals suspected of involvement in the attack. The Italian Directorate of Anti-Mafia Investigations, in collaboration with multiple enforcement agencies including Europol, France’s Office for the Prevention of Cybercrime, and the Paris Search and Intervention Brigade, have apprehended the suspects. Assets and electronics were confiscated as part of the arrests.
The Holograph hack occurred on June 13 when a cybercriminal exploited a vulnerability in the Holograph operator contract, minting 1 billion HLG tokens valued at $14.4 million. HLG is the protocol’s native token. Within hours, the hacker converted the stolen assets to Tether (USDT) and absconded with the stablecoins. On-chain analysts discovered that a rogue developer had executed the attack after making preparations roughly a month in advance. The wallet address that received the minted supply was funded 26 days before the exploit. The Holograph team promptly alerted law enforcement agencies, leading to ongoing investigations.
Law enforcement agencies and cyber investigators traced the attacks to two men in their thirties residing in Italy. They were arrested and detained on August 9 and are expected to be extradited to France to face charges. Holograph stated that their names could not be publicized based on instructions from French authorities and to facilitate further investigations. “The broader investigation is still very fluid — the team will share more information on asset recovery for the Holograph ecosystem as the proceedings develop,” the protocol added.
The Holograph attack significantly impacted the value of HLG, with the token plunging 80% from $0.014 to a low of $0.0029 in less than ten hours. The token’s market cap dropped from $22 million to $4.8 million, and the value of the stolen stash reduced from $14.4 million to $7 million. Although HLG’s market cap is currently below $3.44 million, the token has reacted to the news of the arrests, surging 62% from $0.0016 to $0.0026. At the time of writing, HLG was hovering around $0.0024, up 41% in the past 24 hours.
