A significant and enigmatic hack has resulted in the unauthorized withdrawal of over $10 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) and various other tokens from a considerable number of cryptocurrency whales.
The incident came to light when a developer associated with the widely used browser-based wallet MetaMask, known as Tay, took to Twitter to report the theft. Tay expressed his concern, stating, “It’s rekt my friends & OGs who are reasonably secure,” and emphasized that the method used for the hack remains unknown.
Elaborating on the details of the hack, the MetaMask developer revealed that it encompassed more than 5,000 ETH, in addition to an unspecified quantity of other tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) residing on multiple blockchains compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
At the current exchange rate, the 5,000 ETH tokens alone are valued at nearly $10 million.
The details surrounding the hack, as mentioned in the original tweet by Tay, are still quite limited. However, some common factors among the victims have emerged. Specifically, it appears that all of the affected wallets were created between 2014 and 2022.
Tay emphasized that this is not the work of a low-level phishing site or a random scammer. The targets of this hack are not newcomers to the crypto world but rather individuals with significant experience in the field, commonly referred to as “OGs” or “original gangsters” in the crypto community.
Furthermore, the MetaMask developer clarified that the hack has primarily focused on blockchains compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), although it is not limited to MetaMask users alone.
Tay noted that this hack has affected users of various wallet types, including those who created wallets on hardware wallets or during the Ethereum presale. The stolen funds are typically converted into Bitcoin, which is then sent through a coin mixer to obscure their origins.
In a final piece of advice, Tay urged users to diversify their assets across different wallets to mitigate the risk of losing all their holdings. The developer emphasized the importance of not relying on a single key or secret phrase for extended periods, highlighting the need for increased security measures.
