Mark Cuban’s Cryptocurrency Wallet Hacked, Over $870,000 Digital Asset Lost

The theft of nearly $870,000 in digital assets, including Ethereum (ETH) and USD stablecoin (USDC), from Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was a surprising turn of events. This event has resonated the earlier doubt investors have about cryptocurrency security.

The situation was first shrouded in rumor, with some speculating that Cuban had transferred a substantial sum of USDC, amounting to $2 million, to a different wallet address, raising concerns about his intentions. The speculation went on for a while until it was made public that Cuban’s cryptocurrency wallet had been compromised, and a sizable sum of digital assets had been taken.

The attacker’s wallet had received at least $871,000 worth of Ethereum and USDC that had been taken from the billionaire’s wallet. Amit Singh of Todayq reported that the hack sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency world and brought attention to the ongoing security issues faced by people and organizations working with digital assets.

It was gathered that Mark Cuman has had his fair share of bad cryptocurrency investments. In 2021, the billionaire lost his investment in Iron Finance; at the same time, the value of its stablecoin, Titan, declined, thus liquidating Cuban’s holdings.

Cuban Admits He Was Hacked, Discussion For Cryptocurrency Security Resonates

Mark Cuban acknowledged being a victim of the intrusion hours after the incident made the news hence, confirming that it really happened.  In his testimony, he disclosed that the burglar had successfully taken 5 ETH (Ethereum), which at the time of writing was worth about $8,200.

Discussions regarding the security methods people and organizations use to protect their cryptocurrency holdings were also spurred by the breach, with the online community suggesting that he could have gone for the cold wallet option. Team at ChainRank Analytics, among other blockchain security experts and cryptocurrency exchanges have commented on this trend.

They, on their various social media handles have consistently emphasize the need to implement strong security procedures, like hardware wallets, two-factor authentication (2FA), and secure private key storage. According to the recommendation, these procedures can drastically lower the risk of asset theft and illegal access.

Cuban Suspects He Was Tracked For Months, Narrates Ordeal

While narrating how the event played out, Cuban said that he suspects the perpetrators must have been monitoring how he accessed his MetaMask wallet. He specified that they monitored his activities for almost five months. While acknowledging the hack, he also revealed that he must have downloaded a fake MetaMask app.

WazzCrypto, a freelance blockchain industry investigator, was the first to alert the public about the Cuban’s wallet breach hours before the billionaire admitted it himself. According to WazzCrypto, while announcing the incident on it’s X handle, said that it has uncovered a strange withdrawal from Mr. Cuban’s hot wallet.

The account also stated that the wallet had been inactive for 160 days before the hack. This development is coming at a time when the trust of the cryptocurrency community is shaken owing to the continuous breach in major cryptocurrency industry players.

Earlier in the week, news had it that South Korea’s top cryptocurrency firm, CoinEx was hacked, with digital assets worth over $55 million stolen. Other companies that have suffered major breach within the month include Stake.com,  Euler Finance, and Optimism.