CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • Spanish
    • Turkish
    • German
    • Bulgarian
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • CryptoPotato Spanish
  • CryptoPotato Turkey
  • CryptoPotato Germany
  • CryptoPotato Bulgaria
  • Market Updates
  • BTC Analysis
  • ETH Analysis
  • XRP Analysis
  • Interviews
CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • Spanish
    • Turkish
    • German
    • Bulgarian
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • CryptoPotato Spanish
  • CryptoPotato Turkey
  • CryptoPotato Germany
  • CryptoPotato Bulgaria
Home » Crypto News » Vitalik Buterin Addresses The Cause For The $2.6 Million Fees ETH Transactions

Vitalik Buterin Addresses The Cause For The $2.6 Million Fees ETH Transactions

Author: George Georgiev

Last Updated Jun 12, 2020 @ 16:01
Getting your audio player ready...

Over the past couple of days, three transactions with abnormally high fees were carried out on Ethereum’s network. Two of them, both with the same fee of about $2.6 million per transaction, were initiated from the same sending address, while the third one was from a different address and with a smaller fee compared to the others.

According to Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s Co-Founder, these million-dollar transaction fees “may” actually be blackmail.

What Happened on Ethereum’s Blockchain?

Two days ago, as CryptoPotato reported, an unknown address sent a transaction of 0.55 ETH to another user and paid 10,668 ETH (worth around $2.6M) of fees. While a lot of people were speculating that it may have been an input-value human mistake, the following day saw another transaction from the same address with the exact same transaction fee.

In total, the account had paid upwards of $5.2 million in fees for two transactions that carried a little over 350 ETH worth of value.

And if that wasn’t strange enough, just today, a third Ethereum transaction carrying around 3,221 ETH paid a fee of 2,310 ETH worth just shy of $550,000 at the time of this writing.

The third transaction from today had a different sender compared to the previous two. This had the entire community wondering what’s the reason for this.

Vitalik Buterin Weighs In

According to Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, these “million-dollar txfees *may* actually be blackmail.”

His theory assumes that the sending address belongs to a cryptocurrency exchange, to which hackers have “captured partial access to exchange key.” Since they don’t have the full key, “they can’t withdraw but can send no-effect txs with any gas price.”

In essence, the hackers would leverage their ability to send transactions of the kind and “burn” all funds “unless compensated.”

So the million-dollar txfees *may* actually be blackmail.

The theory: hackers captured partial access to exchange key; they can’t withdraw but can send no-effect txs with any gasprice. So they threaten to “burn” all funds via txfees unless compensated.https://t.co/kEDFGp4gsQ

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) June 12, 2020

When asked how this partial key would like, Buterin answered that “the key could be stored in some kind of cloud server instance that has a non-root account that’s capable of only withdrawing to particular addresses.”

It’s important to note that this is just a theory, and Buterin hasn’t made any claims. He also clarified that this could happen on any platform and not only on Ethereum.

In essence, the matter remains unresolved and particularly peculiar.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Tags: Ethereum Vitalik Buterin
Enjoy reading? Share with your friends
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram

About The Author

George Georgiev
More posts by this author

Georgi Georgiev is CryptoPotato's editor-in-chief and a seasoned writer with over four years of experience writing about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Georgi's passion for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies bloomed in late 2016 and he hasn't looked back since. Crypto’s technological and economic implications are what interest him most, and he has one eye turned to the market whenever he’s not sleeping. Contact George: LinkedIn

Join Our Community

FacebookX YouTubeTelegram


Editorials
How to Farm Airdrops on Hyperliquid (HYPE): The Complete Guide to Free Money This Crypto Cycle

How to Farm Airdrops on Hyperliquid (HYPE): The Complete Guide to Free Money This Crypto Cycle

How to Trade on Hyperliquid: The Ultimate Guide (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)

How to Trade on Hyperliquid: The Ultimate Guide (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)

12 Best Meme Coins to Watch in July 2025

12 Best Meme Coins to Watch in July 2025

7 Best Meme Coin Presales to Watch in July 2025

7 Best Meme Coin Presales to Watch in July 2025

Toobit Review 2025: Is Toobit a Safe Crypto Exchange?

Toobit Review 2025: Is Toobit a Safe Crypto Exchange?

Hyperliquid Bridge: How to Bridge USDC to Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid Bridge: How to Bridge USDC to Hyperliquid

11 Best Crypto Presales to Consider in July 2025

11 Best Crypto Presales to Consider in July 2025

Join Our Newsletter
Become a CryptoPotato VIP
One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.
Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report
We NEVER send spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!
Footer Logo
About
Advertise on CryptoPotato
About Us | Contact Us | Careers
Editorial Policy
Terms of service | Privacy Policy | GDPR
More Sections
IEO List | Evaluations
Airdrops
Scholarship
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. Full disclaimer
© Copyright CryptoPotato 2016 - 2025
Scroll to top
One Daily Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.

Sign-up FREE to receive our extended daily market update and coin analysis report

We never send SPAM. You can unsubscribe at any moment
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!