Ripple Labs' Chief Technology Officer (CTO) David Schwartz has waded into the ongoing hostile takeover demands from the unknown exploiter of the Kyber Network with his characteristic sarcastic comments. Schwartz's comments come as the hacker sent a proposal made available to the public demanding to take complete control of the protocol.
The hacker gained access to Kyber Network in November when he fraudulently siphoned at least $50 million from multiple blockchains hosted on the platform. While this is one of many related exploits recorded in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space thus far this year, the hacker’s demands are the first of their kind.
Besides complete control, the hacker also wants full authority over the protocol’s governance infrastructure, KyberDAO. He said this secession of power must be accompanied by the handover of all papers related to the company as well as the handover of assets the protocol owns both online and offline.
Should this be done, the exploiter promised to pay off the owners at a fair valuation, double the salaries of staff who choose to stay, provide rebates for liquidity providers and make the token proud of the protocol as it will experience a complete makeover.
Ripple CTO not up for blackmail
In response to this proposal, which has until Dec. 10 before the offer goes bust, the Ripple CTO posed a question seeking to know whether it is too late to ask for a unicorn and a spaceship.
Historically, some high-profile hacks have seen the hacker return the funds stolen in exchange for a bounty payment. One popular example in this regard is the Poly Network hack of 2021 where the exploiter refunded all of the more than $600 million stolen.
The next steps for Kyber Network remain unknown, and neither did the Ripple CTO give any further recommendations on the subject.