Arbitrum Recovers $30 Million in Crypto Tied to Binance Hack

Arbitrum, the Ethereum layer-2 network, has recovered about $30 million in cryptocurrency tied to the Binance hack, CoinDesk reported.

On Oct. 30, Arbitrum's Security Council transferred more than 8,425 Ether and 74 million ARB tokens from a wallet linked to the Binance attacker to a separate custody address, according to CoinDesk.

The recovery was carried out without the hacker's private key or signature. The Security Council temporarily modified the code of the "Inbox" smart contract to enable the transfer from the hacker's wallet. It then completed the transfer and restored the original code.

Arbitrum's Security Council has 12 members. In an emergency, it can change the network's smart contracts if nine members agree.

The council said the move did not affect other users' assets or applications. It added that the recovered funds can be moved only through a governance vote by the Arbitrum decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO.

CoinDesk said the move could fuel debate over centralization because operators of a decentralized network were able to move funds from a specific wallet without a private key.