Bitquery data reveals how frantic token swaps created a trading frenzy, sending Ethereum block payments soaring more than 2,200-fold.

Ethereum validators captured the bulk of nearly $30 million in payments generated during the trading frenzy surrounding Binance's $6.3 billion hack.

According to an Oct. 30 investigation by Bitquery, the attackers lost approximately $119 million by exchanging stolen cryptocurrency at unfavorable prices while racing to move funds beyond the reach of stablecoin issuers.

The hurried transactions created extraordinary arbitrage opportunities, allowing trading firms and automated bots to retain approximately $60 million in profits after costs.

Another $29.5 million flowed to Ethereum block builders and validators as traders competed to exploit price differences created by the attackers' massive transactions.

Bitquery found that Ethereum block builders received 10,251 ETH in tips between 20:30 UTC on Oct. 29 and 01:00 UTC on Oct. 30, compared with just 4.6 ETH during the equivalent period the previous night.

The more than 2,200-fold increase followed aggressive cryptocurrency swaps by the hackers, who were converting stolen stablecoins and other assets into ETH and TRX before their holdings could be frozen.

On Ethereum alone, the attackers paid approximately $71.5 million above prevailing market prices to acquire ETH.

The buying pressure pushed prices in Uniswap's main WETH/USDT liquidity pool as much as 38% above the broader market, creating opportunities for arbitrage bots to purchase ETH elsewhere and sell it into the inflated pool.

However, capturing those profits required priority access to Ethereum's limited blockspace, triggering an intense bidding war among automated traders.

Source link