In a recent crypto security breach, approximately $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency was drained from one of the hot wallets owned by billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban.
The hack was initially discovered by independent blockchain investigator Wazz on September 15th, around 8 pm UTC. Wazz detected suspicious activity in one of Mark Cuban’s wallets that hadn’t been accessed for approximately five months. According to the transaction history on Etherscan, several batches of assets, including USD Coin (USDC), Tether, and Lido Staked Ether (stETH), were swiftly withdrawn from the wallet within a 10-minute window.
To add complexity to the situation, an additional $2 million worth of USDC was withdrawn and sent to a different wallet. This led Wazz to speculate that Cuban might have been repositioning his assets intentionally.
However, Cuban later confirmed to DL News that he had accessed his MetaMask wallet for the first time in months. He suggested that the hacker or hackers may have been monitoring his activity and waiting for an opportune moment to strike. Cuban also revealed that he had moved any remaining assets to Coinbase Custody, essentially confirming that the $2 million USDC transaction was indeed initiated by him.
The crypto community raised questions about the incident, with many suggesting that rather than hackers closely monitoring Cuban’s actions, he may have inadvertently approved a malicious transaction. Others speculated that his private key might have been compromised, as the funds were directly transferred out of the wallet.
This incident isn’t Mark Cuban’s first encounter with setbacks in the crypto market. In June 2021, he suffered unspecified losses due to what he referred to as a “rug pull.” This occurred when an algorithmic stablecoin project named Iron Finance collapsed amid allegations of a bank run.
The security breach underscores the importance of maintaining rigorous security measures in the cryptocurrency space, as even experienced investors like Mark Cuban can fall victim to such attacks. Cuban’s decision to move his remaining assets to a more secure platform serves as a reminder of the need for heightened security awareness in the rapidly evolving world of digital assets.
