Decrypt reports, that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently experienced a Twitter hack that led to the loss of $691,000 from unsuspecting users. The breach was discovered on Saturday when a dubious post appeared on Buterin’s feed, announcing the launch of commemorative non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from software provider Consensys. The fraudulent link, potentially seen by millions of Buterin’s 4.9 million followers, coerced victims into connecting their wallets to mint the NFTs, unknowingly paving the way for the hacker to abscond with their funds.
While vigilant members of Crypto Twitter were swift to flag the spurious link, the first official acknowledgment of the hack came from Buterin’s father, Dmitriy “Dima” Buterin. Although the incriminating post has since been removed, the damage was done, with numerous victims reporting the loss of their wallet funds. The attacker managed to make off with over $147,000 within the hour, a sum that ballooned to a staggering $691,000, as confirmed by blockchain investigator @ZachXBT.
As the incident unfolded, Buterin has yet to make a public statement regarding the matter, with his most recent post being a retweet from September 6. @ZachXBT disclosed that the hacker proceeded to send a pilfered NFT to Buterin, further compounding the situation.
In light of the substantial losses incurred, discussions have arisen regarding the responsibility of developers to compensate the victims for their financial setbacks. The incident has also cast doubt on Twitter’s own security measures, drawing comparisons to the robust security protocols employed by traditional financial accounts. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao chimed in, highlighting deficiencies in Twitter’s account security design in contrast to conventional financial platforms.
The cryptocurrency community remains on edge, awaiting updates from Buterin and hoping for a resolution that will mitigate the damage caused by this distressing breach.
