— In an Unprecedented Move in the Blockchain Space, ETC Labs Initiates both a Technical and Legal Response to Recent Ethereum Classic Attacks —
Ethereum Classic Labs (ETC Labs), the core development and accelerator organization for the Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain, today announced that in addition to pursuing technical solutions, it has retained cross-border disputes and investigations firm Kobre & Kim (www.kobrekim.com) to pursue legal remedies, and CipherTrace (www.ciphertrace.com) to work with authorities to investigate and pursue criminal charges against the perpetrators and related parties of recent attacks on the Ethereum Classic blockchain.
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“We’ve engaged Kobre & Kim and CipherTrace to assist in the investigation and pursuit of criminal charges against the perpetrators of the recent attacks on ETC,” said Terry Culver, CEO of ETC Labs. “Together we will cooperate with stakeholders and agencies in the United States and wherever else the investigation leads to analyze the transactions and to identify the responsible parties with the knowledge and motive to carry out these attacks. We want to ensure that there are severe consequences for manipulating a public blockchain to steal. We are determined to protect the integrity of the ecosystem.”
“A regrettable side effect of the blockchain revolution has been a rise in the number of bad actors who seek to exploit public blockchains for unlawful ends,” said Benjamin Sauter of Kobre & Kim LLP, who was also one of the first lawyers to freeze and recover misappropriated digital currency on a fraud victim’s behalf. “However, there exist numerous legal avenues that victims can take to restore justice swiftly and effectively. We look forward to pursuing those avenues with ETC Labs.” In addition, ETC Labs is currently working with community, stakeholder, and technical teams to stabilize and strengthen the network.
“We are proud to help solve this pivotal case which represents more than a major theft because it is an attack on the integrity of a major blockchain. By tracing these stolen funds to virtual asset service providers, preventing these hackers from converting ill-gotten crypto to cash, we can not only preserve financial integrity but also hold these criminals accountable and help prevent future attacks,” said Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace. “This case highlights the critical role blockchain analytics plays in maintaining the stability of the virtual asset economy.”
“Ethereum Classic is a growing and truly decentralized community. Bad actors have exploited that to hurt community members, honest miners, and exchanges,” continued Culver. “Nevertheless, ETC’s history shows that we’re resilient and will continue through this adversity. We continue to believe in ETC’s value, utility and enormous potential.”
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