Bitcoin core developer claims to have lost 200+ BTC in hack

By Clark

A Bitcoin OG and core developer Luke Dashjr claims his PGP key was compromised, leading to nearly all his Bitcoin being purloined from him on Dec. 31.

One of the first core developers behind Bitcoin BTC tickers down $16,718, Luke Dashjr, claims to possess lost “basically” all his BTC as a results of a hack that occurred simply before the New Year.

In a Jan. 1 post on Twitter, the developer aforementioned the alleged hackers had somehow gained access to his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key, a typical security methodology that uses 2 keys to realize access to encrypted data.

In the thread, he shared a billfold address wherever a number of the purloined BTC had been sent however didn’t reveal what proportion of his BTC was stolen in total.

At the time of writing the billfold address in question shows four transactions between 2:08 and 2:16 pm GMT on Dec. 31, totalling 216.93 BTC — value $3.6 million at current costs.

Dashjr aforementioned he had “no plan how” the attackers gained access to his key, although some within the community have pointed to a potential reference to an earlier Twitter post from Dashjr on Nov. 17 that noted that his server had been compromised by “new malware/backdoors on the system.”

Dashjr told a user in his most up-to-date Twitter thread that he had solely detected the recent hack when obtaining emails from Coinbase and Kraken regarding login tries.

The incident has conjointly caught the eye of Binance business executive Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who offered condolences and support in an exceedingly January. 1 post.

“Sorry to check you lose most. sophisticated our security team to watch. If it comes our method, we’ll freeze it. If there’s anything we will facilitate with, please allow us to recognize. we have a tendency to wear down these usually, and have enforcement (LE) relationships worldwide,” he wrote.

Some within the crypto community have speculated that lax security could be answerable for the loss.

In a Jan. 1 Reddit thread, a user business themselves SatStandard advised that Dashjr might not have taken the Nov. seventeen security breach “seriously enough” and later advised that the Bitcoin developer “did not keep totally different activities separated.”

“He had a hot billfold on an equivalent pc he did everything else. it’s like he was extremely contented .”

Meanwhile, a number of others seem to counsel it’s going to not are a hack in the least, suggesting that somebody had stumbled across the seed phrase somehow, or it absolutely was a part of associate unfortunate “boating accident” before tax season.

A seafaring accident during this context is in respect to a running joke and acculturation originally u by gun enthusiasts, however since repurposed by the crypto community regarding folks making an attempt to avoid paying taxes by claiming they lost all their BTC in an exceedingly “tragic seafaring accident.”

Cointelegraph reached bent Dashjr over Twitter for additional data regarding the alleged hack however didn’t hear back by the time of publication.

The news has conjointly kindled a discussion around self-custody, that became a hot topic when the collapse of FTX last year.

Binance’s Zhao, who antecedently cautioned the crypto community regarding self-custody, said: “Sad to check even associate OG #Bitcoin Core Developer lost 200+ BTC ($3.5 million). Self custody [has] a unique set of risks.”

Online social media BTC influencer Udi Wertheimer conjointly took the time to question whether or not self-custody was a viable and safe possibility, commenting that one “shouldn’t manage your own keys.”

“If even one amongst Bitcoin’s OG developers messes this up, I actually don’t know how people are expected to try and do it safely.”

“That’s to not say self custody is dangerous. however you shouldn’t manage keys directly,” he said.