Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham has uncovered numerous crypto addresses containing substantial sums of money that appear to be either “stuck” or “forgotten” within two major bridge contracts.
In a recent post on April 22, Arkham disclosed that several accounts, including those associated with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and various DeFi whales, have significant funds trapped in bridge contracts.
The firm substantiated its findings with screenshots illustrating fund transfers to and from the Arbitrum and Optimism bridges.
One particularly noteworthy instance highlighted by Arkham involves a wallet that received 50 Ether (ETH) from Buterin, with $1.05 million stuck in the Optimism bridge for the past seven months. Despite this, if the wallet does indeed belong to Buterin, the amount represents only a fraction of his $789 million cryptocurrency portfolio, according to Arkham’s data.
Other cases include a wallet linked to Bofur Capital, potentially tied to a Celsius creditor, which has $1.8 million in wrapped-Bitcoin (WBTC) trapped in the Arbitrum bridge for the past 27 months.
Similarly, a wallet owned by Thomasg.eth, the pseudonymous founder of decentralized air transportation solution Arrow, holds $800,000 worth of Ether stuck in the Arbitrum bridge.
Arkham also reported that Coinbase attempted to bridge $75,000 in USD Coin (USDC) to Ethereum via the Optimism bridge six months ago, but the funds have yet to be claimed on Ethereum’s base layer.
While these funds remain unclaimed, it is plausible that the wallet owners still retain full control and have chosen to temporarily park the funds there.
Cross-chain bridges are integral components of modular blockchain networks like Ethereum, delegating transaction responsibilities to layer 2 solutions while upholding data availability and security on the base layer.
However, bridges have increasingly become attractive targets for hackers due to potentially vulnerable smart contracts or centralized validator sets. For example, the $650 million Ronin bridge hack orchestrated by North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group in March 2022 exploited access to five out of nine private keys held by transaction validators.
Arkham’s Intel Exchange, launched last year, is touted as the world’s first on-chain “intelligence marketplace.” This platform facilitates the sharing and trading of blockchain-related intelligence, catering to a growing community of on-chain researchers seeking to monetize their skills.
Utilizing a bounty mechanism, the Intel Exchange connects buyers seeking specific on-chain information with experienced blockchain researchers who fulfill requests in exchange for payment.
