Crypto Trader Seeks Help From White Hats to Recover $25M Stuck in Smart Contract

In a desperate plea on X (Twitter), a crypto investor requests assistance from skilled hackers and white hats after losing access to $25 million worth of digital assets locked in an Ethereum-based smart contract.

The investor promised a 10% bounty, worth $2.5 million, to anyone who could help retrieve the funds.

Urgent Request for Help!

To all skilled hackers and white hats out there: I’ve lost a significant sum of funds in a contract and urgently need help recovering it. If you can successfully retrieve the funds, I’ll immediately offer a 10% reward, which is approximately $2.5 million…

— 我有一个狗王梦 (@qklpjeth) November 10, 2024

Stuck in a Smart Contract

On-chain data shows that the affected user’s wallet address has zero ether (ETH) but includes $25.9 million worth of “ezETH” (Renzo Restaked ETH) tokens under ERC-20 holdings.

Unfortunately, the asset appears inaccessible, prompting the investor to seek solutions in the crypto community.

Suggestions from several X users have offered the investor a glimmer of hope. According to some replies, the “Renzo” token contract is upgradeable, meaning its developers might be able to introduce a rescue function. 

Someone advised the user to contact Renzo Protocol directly since the token contract is upgradeable.

i don’t see any way to get your money out, imo the only solution would be to contact renzo and, since their token contract is upgradeable, ask them to upgrade to add a function to rescue your funds

— 0xngmi (@0xngmi) November 10, 2024

Another user said he should reach out to Renzo, saying, “What you “locked” is ezETH, it’s not ETH itself, and ezETH is a claim on the underlying. Maybe (that’s a big maybe), the team can freeze/delete them and issue new ones.”

Someone else advised offering Renzo the pledged bounty reward to upgrade the smart contract.

Possible Solution 

While the possibility of recovering the asset exists, it ultimately depends on Renzo’s willingness to upgrade the contract. In the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), upgradeable contracts offer flexibility for unforeseen circumstances, but they also have disadvantages, as investors may lack full control over locked assets.

This incident highlights the complexities and potential pitfalls of DeFi. As the investor continues his appeal, market participants watch closely to see if the funds can be recovered.