UPDATE: Story has been confirmed to be a hoax due to fake PGP signature.

The story regarding the loss of funds controlled by The DAO continues. In fact, things have taken a rather unexpected turn. An open letter allegedly written by the “hacker” has been leaked online. In this email, the person mentions how the funds were obtained through legal means, and how he is prepared to take legal action if anyone tries to steal his money.

The DAO “Thief” Surfaces

Although it remains unclear as to who is behind the attack against The DAO, things have taken an unexpected turn. The letter published by the alleged “thief” of the funds mentions how all of the Ether transferred to a child DAO are legitimately his. After all, he managed to withdraw funds from a smart contract that was validated by the protocol.

The loss of over 3 million Ether is a significant threat to the viability of The DAO, though. It should have been impossible for anyone to retrieve their funds, yet someone managed to exploit a loophole. Seeing as to how the Slock.It the team was aware of this problem, the “thief” mentions how “this feature is in place to encourage the creation of Child DAOs”.

It comes as no surprise this incident has caused quite a stir among the cryptocurrency community. The “thief” is disappointed this incident is labeled as theft since he made use of an explicitly coded feature per the smart contract terms. Moreover, he claims his law firm advised him the action taken is fully compliant with the US criminal and tort law. Rather interesting, to say the least.

Right now, different solutions are being discussed to solve this problem. The Ethereum and DAO developers seem for a soft or hard fork, which would make the “stolen” funds null and void. Following either path would set a dangerous precedent for both Ethereum and The DAO, though. Moreover, the “thief” is not too amused by this prospect either, and stated:

“I reserve all rights to take any and all legal action against any accomplices of illegitimate theft, freezing, or seizure of my legitimate ether, and am actively working with my law firm. Those accomplices will be receiving Cease and Desist notices in the mail shortly.”

We will continue to monitor this story as it further develops. Do keep in mind this message may very well be a hoax. 

Source: Pastebin

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