In a shocking turn of events, cryptocurrency gambling platform Stake has fallen victim to a significant hacking incident, resulting in the theft of approximately $41 million worth of digital assets. The breach was reportedly carried out by hackers who exploited a stolen private key, allowing them to access and withdraw funds from Stake’s Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) hot wallets.
The breach came to light when Stake issued an official statement on X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging the unauthorized transactions from their hot wallets. Despite the alarming situation, Stake reassured its users, stating, “We are investigating and will get the wallets up as soon as they’re completely re-secured. User funds are safe.”
While the breach targeted Ethereum and BSC wallets, Stake clarified that other cryptocurrency wallets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), EOS, and TRON (TRX), remain unaffected and fully operational.
Ed Craven, Co-founder of Stake, provided some perspective on the incident, noting, “Stake keeps a small portion of its crypto reserves in hot wallets at any given moment for these very reasons.” This suggests that the losses incurred by the platform are a relatively small fraction of their overall holdings and should not have a significant impact on users.
Following the successful breach, the attackers swiftly distributed the stolen funds to multiple accounts. The incident also extended beyond Ethereum and BSC, affecting other blockchains like Polygon (MATIC). According to the smart contract auditor Beosin, losses on Polygon amounted to $7.8 million, while losses on BSC reached $17.8 million, bringing the total losses to more than $41 million.
This unfortunate incident serves as a stark reminder of the persistent cybersecurity challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry. Last year, the sector suffered losses exceeding $3.7 billion due to various hacks and exploits.
Stake, known for offering a variety of gambling and betting options, including dice games, Blackjack, Lingo, sports betting, and other casino games, will now focus on strengthening its security measures to prevent future breaches and safeguard its users’ assets.