By George Ward
The renowned American investor and owner of the NBA professional basketball team, Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has reportedly gotten back his 3 million USDC stablecoins. According to Arkham Intelligence, the asset was stolen from the billionaire’s MetaMask crypto wallet after lying unused for 160 days.
Retrieving Stolen Tokens
Following billionaire Mark Cuban recovery of his stolen 3 million USDC assets, the celebrated Chinese crypto reporter Colin Wu posted on his X account that the funds had been transferred to a Coinbase address. Wu revealed that the American investor was a victim of a cunning theft, with his crypto wallet lying dormant for up to 160 days compromised by an unknown entity.
The wallet contained a sizable stash of 175,000 USDC, 4,340 USDC, 4,860 USDT, 7,020 RARI, 12,360 MATIC, 338.21 stETH, 5.29 ETH, 8.247 WETH, 697,480 RARE, 16,670 BIT, 5,920 GOHM, and 10,000 AUDIO. Even though Cuban got hold of his wallet, the hackers had already drawn off a substantial sum, leaving a void of approximately $870,000 from the recovered assets.
The reporter noted that this heist is a stark reminder of the ever-present danger lurking in the digital asset ecosystem. Wazz, an independent blockchain detective, was the first to notice the unusual event and announced it on the X app.
After lying idle for a long time, the wallet started showing increased activity, which attracted suspicions. Wazz immediately took note of the unusual behavior and traced the movement of the funds.
The blockchain detective shared a screenshot of the wallet’s recent on-chain movements. Wazz also asked the crypto community if they had noticed any unusual activities and whether the wallet had suffered a significant drain of its assets.
Cuban’s Confirmation
Following Wazz’s observation and posts on X, reports quickly surfaced indicating that Cuban’s crypto account had been hacked. Confirming the breach hours after the initial post, the renowned investor revealed that he had recently accessed the address on MetaMask after a long period of inactivity.
This revelation prompted him to speculate that the hacker may have been monitoring the wallet for some time, waiting for the right moment to carry out their malicious act. Meanwhile, another crypto enthusiast with the acronym “Cryptomom” on the X app shared his insights regarding the incident.
She speculated that the investor may have signed off on something he should not have through his MetaMask wallet. This hypothesis raised questions about why he decided to store such a large crypto holding in a potentially vulnerable hot wallet, prompting further inquisition into digital asset storage security measures.
Another user named Junion quickly debunked Cryptomom’s theory and clarified the speculation. Junion stated that there was no evidence that the billionaire had accidentally signed off on anything illegal.
Instead, the commenter pointed to the transaction records on Etherscan, which revealed the true nature of the breach. Thus, Junion opined that the attackers might have compromised Cuban’s private key.
Moreover, the clear evidence of direct transfers within the transaction history further clarified the genesis of the theft. This revelation highlighted the importance of protecting users’ private keys, emphasizing their vital role in ensuring the security of digital assets.