A remarkable turn of events unfolds as the individual responsible for orchestrating the staggering $320 million Wormhole bridge exploit in 2022 emerges as a potential recipient of the $50,000 airdrop of W tokens, the latest cryptocurrency released by Wormhole.

Exposed by Pland, a cyber investigator operating under a pseudonym, it was revealed that certain wallet addresses associated with the Wormhole exploit were inadvertently overlooked during the exclusion process for the airdrop.

Revelations from the Solana-based airdrop checker, Airdrop.link, as reported by Degen News, showcased that four addresses linked to the Wormhole attack temporarily qualified for Wormhole's airdrop. At that moment, the hacker could have amassed approximately 31,642 W tokens, equivalent to $50,000 based on current market valuations.

However, subsequent investigations indicated that the specific wallet addresses linked to the hacker failed to meet the criteria for the airdrop, prompting the Wormhole team to promptly rectify the situation and prevent unwarranted claims.

The 2022 Wormhole exploit, recognized as one of the largest crypto thefts of its time, inflicted substantial damage on the cross-chain protocol, resulting in the loss of 120,000 wETH tokens valued at $321 million. This incident stood out as one of the major DeFi fund breaches, with hackers converting wETH tokens into various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Solana SOL, USDC, APE, and SX.

Responding to the exploit, web3 infrastructure company Jump Crypto and the Oasis.app DeFi platform executed a counter exploit on the Wormhole bridge hacker, successfully recovering a substantial portion of the stolen funds amounting to $225 million.

In the wake of the exploit, Wormhole announced a significant airdrop comprising approximately 675 million W tokens, valued at approximately $850 million based on current market prices, stirring excitement among enthusiasts. This airdrop, intended for over 400,000 eligible wallets across various blockchain networks, including Solana, Ethereum, and others, marks a significant milestone in the project's evolution.

Despite an initial surge in value during the launch phase, with W tokens reaching a peak of $1.66 before experiencing a subsequent dip to $0.98, representing a nearly 27% decline, the token's market capitalization soared to nearly $3 billion before stabilizing around $2.4 billion, as reported by CoinGecko.

The Wormhole and W Token initiatives underscore the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency sphere, emphasizing the need for robust security measures and enhanced regulatory frameworks to safeguard user funds and foster trust in the ecosystem's sustainability.