A Maryland man has been charged with stealing more than $53m after allegedly hacking the Uranium Finance cryptocurrency exchange twice in 2021 and laundering the proceeds through a crypto mixer, according to US prosecutors. Jonathan Spalletta, 36, appeared in court after surrendering to law enforcement. Authorities allege the attacks drained most of the exchange’s assets and forced the platform to shut down due to a lack of funds, highlighting risks tied to vulnerabilities in decentralized finance platforms.
Officials said the alleged attacks involved exploiting flaws in smart contract code, including manipulating a rewards system to withdraw funds he was not entitled to receive and exploiting a coding error affecting transaction verification. According to the indictment, the attacks took place in April 2021 and drained 26 liquidity pools of roughly $53.3m, with nearly 90% of Uranium Finance’s assets withdrawn in the second breach before the exchange shut down.
Prosecutors said the stolen cryptocurrency was laundered through multiple decentralized exchanges and the Tornado Cash mixer, with funds later used to buy rare collectibles and historical items.