A fake blockchain impersonating GIWA, the unreleased Ethereum Layer-2 chain backed by Upbit operator Dunamu, pulled in roughly 766 ETH, worth about $2 million, before the real project warned users that its mainnet doesn't even exist yet.
- The scheme went further than simply copying a website.
- Its operators appear to have created a functioning blockchain network, RPC endpoint and bridge that users could add to their wallets and send real ETH into.
- But GIWA's documentation still lists its mainnet as "currently under development."
- The only live network it provides connection details for is GIWA Sepolia, a testnet with chain ID 91342.
- The fake network instead used 9134.
And that number wasn't random as Ethereum's public chain registry already associates chain ID 9134 with GIWA, lists the network as "incubating" and even points to GIWA's official website.
But what's important, however, is that the entry contains no official RPC endpoints.
That appears to have given the fake network an extra layer of credibility since a user checking only the chain ID could see a number already associated publicly with GIWA, even though the RPC and bridge themselves weren't provided by the official GIWA team.
DYORSwap first promoted the network, then reversed course
DYORSwap, a multi-chain decentralized exchange operating across more than a dozen networks, also identified the network as GIWA mainnet before later warning that it was fake.
Posts circulated in DYORSwap's community promoted the supposed early mainnet and argued that its RPC had been wrapped to prevent it from leaking to competing platforms.
And that was enough for users to bridge real ETH into contracts associated with the network.
- According to preliminary calculations, roughly 766 ETH, worth about $2 million, was pulled from the scheme.
DYORSwap later said the "GIWA Mainnet" it had identified was a fake chain, according to a follow-up statement reviewed by The Coinformer.
It said it was collecting evidence and planned to use its treasury to compensate affected users, with further details expected after its investigation.
- GIWA, meanwhile, warned in a Sunday post on X that it hasn't launched mainnet yet.