Blockchain security firm CertiK has released a white hat hack that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has denounced as "extortion". Kraken's chief strategy officer, Nick Percoco, said earlier in the day that the exchange's loss of nearly $3 million was treated as a "criminal case" and coordinated with law enforcement to recover the funds after a group of tech-savvy researchers took advantage of "isolated vulnerabilities". Percoco said the unnamed researchers stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from Kraken by withdrawing funds that had been deposited into his account before the deposits were completed. The attackers "could effectively print the assets", he wrote. CertiK defended its actions on X, claiming that Kraken had threatened company employees. CertiK also claimed that the total amount of funds Kraken demanded back "did not match" the cryptocurrency it had stolen. In addition, Taylor Monahan, CEO and founder of Ethereum wallet manager MyCrypto, wrote on Twitter that CertiK should be afraid of Kraken's lawyers, the damage to its reputation, and how this controversy could affect CertiK's internal culture. She also pointed out that since several crypto projects audited by CertiK have been attacked in the past, speculation has begun to circulate online about the possibility of previous insider operations.