On September 4, 2023, Stake.com, one of the largest crypto gaming hubs in the world, suffered from over $40 million lost due to system hackers. The platform that was supporting a wide range of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and Tronix (TRX) has found multiple suspicious transactions from their Ethereum (ETH) / Binance Smart Chain (BSC) hot wallets, leading to millions of crypto stolen in an instant.
Three hours after the incident, Stake announced the issue on X, assuring their users that all funds are safe and that the investigation is currently being conducted. They have also temporarily halted the deposits and withdrawal transactions upon the said investigation. Just a few hours later, Stake came back on X and confirmed that all their services had resumed.
Loss to hot wallet hackers
Stake.com is a renowned crypto gaming hub for its high-quality services and thousands of crypto gaming hubs, curated from some of the worldwide software providers. The platform has also gained traction for their association with the famous rapper, Drake, and the Formula One team, Alfa Romeo.
However, this popularity has yet to be impacted by the highest-yielding crypto heist recorded in 2023. According to the analysis of the Web3 security firms, Cyvers and Beosin, a huge part of Stake.com’s hot wallet stolen was from the Binance Smart Chain, totaling $17.8 million. Furthermore, $15.7 million were from Ethereum, and another $7.8 million were taken from Polygon, all amounting to $41.3 million.
To provide an overview of the situation, the blockchain security firm, Peckshield, stated that the recorded transactions looked suspicious, given that the platform was not under maintenance. True enough, the transactions were listed unauthorised, which means that an unknown entity has gained access to the platform’s hot wallets, then transferred the funds elsewhere.
Stake founder, Ed Craven, posted on X saying that the platform is always ready for this kind of situation. He also stated that Stake is keeping a small portion of its crypto reserves in hot wallets for these reasons, so all affected wallets should be operational shortly.
Linked to the North Korean threat group’ Lazarus
Stake.com has not yet released any details regarding the potential hackers. However, due to the nature of hacking, the incident is being linked to one notorious North Korean threat group, Lazarus Group. The group was infamous for large crypto-heists in the past.
In 2023, Lazarus was also linked to the Atomic Wallet’s $35 million theft in June, Alphapo’s $60 million theft in July, and CoinsPaid’s $37.3 million loss in the same month. Taylor Monahan, the Lead Product Manager of MetaMask has stated that the hacker’s pattern on Stake appeared methodical, highlighting similarities from these previous exploits.
Stake.com is responsible for about 6% of Bitcoin transactions in the world, 12% of Dogecoin, and 15% of Litecoin, making them highly responsible for any small disputes. Despite the heist that has happened, Stake continued to focus on the best crypto gambling games’ services, eliminating all the worries of their users and assuring them that all their funds are in safe place, hence quickly resuming their normal operations.
