Stake, a prominent cryptocurrency betting platform, has fallen victim to an exploit resulting in the loss of approximately $40 million in funds, as reported by blockchain security experts.
Unauthorized Transactions Were Made From Stake’s ETH/BSC Hot Wallets
Stake, a prominent cryptocurrency betting platform, has fallen victim to an exploit resulting in the loss of approximately $40 million in funds, as reported by blockchain security experts.
This incident started with a series of strange transactions, with approximately $16 million in Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, and DAI left the network on Monday AM Eastern Time, as first revealed by Web3 security firm Cyvers. Crypto sleuth ZachXBT claims that another $25 million was stolen from the BNB Smart Chain and Polygon networks.
In a tweet, Stake revealed, "Three hours ago, unauthorized transactions were made from Stake’s ETH/BSC hot wallets[...] User funds are safe." Hot wallets, being internet-connected digital asset wallets, are susceptible to hacking and other security breaches.
Billionaire founder Ed Craven assured that "Stake keeps a small portion of its crypto reserves in hot wallets at any given moment for these very reasons" and expects that "all affected wallets should be operational shortly."
Stake, founded in 2017 by Australian billionaire Ed Craven, gained celebrity endorsement, most notably from rapper Drake. In 2022, Drake signed a $100 million annual endorsement deal with Stake, according to the Financial Times. Stake reported gross gaming revenues of $2.6 billion last year.
