regulation ·
Israel Extradites Nomad Bridge Exploiter to US Over $2.8M Theft, Supreme Court Rules Flaw Exploitation is Intrusion
Israel has sent Alexander Block, formerly Alexander Gurevich, to the United States to confront charges related to a theft of approximately $2.8 million from the Nomad crypto bridge in 2022.
The Israeli State Attorney's Office confirmed this transfer on Thursday, citing a report in The Jerusalem Post. Block was transferred to U.S. authorities early Thursday following unsuccessful appeals within Israel. He had been apprehended at Ben Gurion Airport in May 2025 while planning travel to Russia, shortly after changing his name and acquiring a new passport.
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of California indicted Block in August 2023 on four counts of computer fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of transporting stolen property, according to the Supreme Court's ruling. The U.S. formally requested his extradition in December 2024.
The extradition request detailed that a June 2022 software update introduced a defect in Nomad's smart contracts. This flaw allowed users to receive tokens on one blockchain without securing the equivalent assets on another.
Block, using the handle "Bitlik," allegedly performed six trial transfers before executing four principal transfers near August 1, 2022, securing tokens valued over $2.8 million. He subsequently moved these tokens across various wallets, converting them into different cryptocurrencies to obscure their source.
His activities exposed the vulnerability to other Nomad participants, resulting in the draining of a Nomad-controlled wallet holding upwards of $186 million in user capital, the request contends.
The Supreme Court dismissed Block’s appeals, establishing that exploiting a programming weakness can constitute unlawful computer intrusion even when the software itself permitted the transaction. Furthermore, the Court determined that publicly visible blockchain transfers do not automatically reveal wallet owners or preclude efforts to hide fund origins.
This judicial determination underscores a regulatory posture where technical permissibility does not negate criminal liability for exploiting system weaknesses. This development reflects an increasing judicial focus on the malicious intent behind exploiting technological vulnerabilities within decentralized finance platforms.
Earlier coverage
Reported by Decrypt.
Topics: regulation.
