Bitcoin

<p>A Bitcoin user has claimed to be the victim of hacking, leading to a record-breaking transaction fee of over $3 million. This incident, which has garnered significant attention, involves an unusually high fee of 83.65 BTC (approximately $3.1 million) paid for a single Bitcoin <a href="https://mempool.space/tx/b5a2af5845a8d3796308ff9840e567b14cf6bb158ff26c999e6f9a1f5448f9aa" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">transaction</a>.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="the-unfolding-of-an-unprecedented-event">The unfolding of an unprecedented event</h2>
<p>The sequence of events unfolded last week when a Bitcoin transaction was processed with an abnormally high fee, setting a new record in terms of U.S. dollar value. This fee surpassed the previous highest fee of about<a href="https://mempool.space/tx/d5392d474b4c436e1c9d1f4ff4be5f5f9bb0eb2e26b61d2781751474b7e870fd" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> $500,000 paid</a> in September. The Bitcoin community was stirred when the <a href="https://x.com/83_5BTC/status/1727996658758058120?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">alleged victim</a>, using the Twitter handle “@83_5BTC”, consistent with the fee amount, claimed their funds were used without their consent.</p>
<p>The victim’s account details a distressing scenario: upon transferring 139 BTC to a new cold wallet, the funds were immediately siphoned to another address, with 55.77 BTC ($2.1 million) being transferred but accompanied by an 83.65 BTC fee. The initial balance before the transaction was 139.42 BTC, valued at around $5.2 million.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="verification-and-theories-around-the-high-fee">Verification and theories around the high fee</h2>
<p>To establish legitimacy, <a href="https://twitter.com/83_5BTC" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">83_5BTC</a> signed a message from the Bitcoin address in question, affirming ownership of the funds. This signature was subsequently<a href="https://x.com/mononautical/status/1728946778798793126?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> verified</a> by Mononaut, a pseudonymous developer behind the Bitcoin explorer Mempool, and Jameson Lopp, co-founder and CTO of Casa. However, Mononaut raised concerns that if the wallet was compromised, the signature could also have been made by an attacker.</p>
<p>The transaction was confirmed by AntPool in block 818,087, as per blockchain explorer Blockchair. Comparatively, the previous record fee in September, identified as a mistake by crypto services provider Paxos, was reimbursed by F2Pool, the miner who processed it. Whether AntPool will agree to a similar resolution remains uncertain, especially considering the need for additional verification of the victim’s identity.</p>
<p>Community member “niftydev” claimed to know the person behind the 83_5BTC account, asserting their ownership of the funds. Mononaut <a href="https://x.com/mononautical/status/1729045556662792283?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">suggested</a> that the high fee could be the result of a low-entropy wallet, which is vulnerable to hacking due to insufficient randomness in its creation. The rapidity of the transaction and the specific 60% fee of the total stolen amount points towards an automated script designed to pay a high fee to outpace competitors in stealing funds from such vulnerable addresses.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="implications-and-lessons-from-the-incident">Implications and lessons from the incident</h2>
<p>This incident not only sets a precedent in terms of the magnitude of transaction fees in Bitcoin but also highlights critical security concerns. The concept of a low-entropy wallet being susceptible to hacking is a stark reminder for users to ensure robust security measures, particularly for large sums. The use of multisig (multi-signature) wallets is recommended to enhance security.</p>
<p>Moreover, the community’s response and the verification mechanisms underscore the ongoing challenges in establishing ownership and authenticating transactions in the decentralized and anonymous nature of blockchain technology. While the blockchain provides a transparent and immutable ledger, these cases reveal the complexities of addressing disputes and errors.</p>

Unthinkable Bitcoin fee drama, $3 million lost in alleged hack

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