Crypto casino Stake has over $40m of funds stolen
Crypto casino Stake has over $40m of funds stolen
As reported earlier in the month, online casino, stake.com, was subject to a huge hack, now more details have emerged of how the casino went on to loose so much money.
Stake is one of the major cryptocurrency casino brands available to players who wish to play with their favored digital currency. However, it was recently reported to have been subjected to a hacking attempt that was worth over $40 million. It has been stressed that the hack had targeted the company’s holdings only, and not user funds.
According to on-chain analysts Cyvers, the hack appeared to see around $16 million had been withdrawn on the Ethereum network after a “private key leak” was experienced. ZachXBT - another blockchain expert - appeared to back up and validate those claims by stating that $15.7 million had been stolen from Ethereum before adding further that another $25.6 million had been stolen from Polygon and Binance Smart Chain, resulting in more than $40 million being lost.
The stolen funds were reported to have been converted to ether (ETH) and were then transferred to numerous wallets that were held externally, although it appears that Stake has not lost everything. Records show that $340,000 worth of Ethereum was still held, while a further $2.1 million in other altcoins were still in the cryptocurrency casino’s possession. Amid the hack, developments forced the company to pause withdrawals, although they have now resumed this process for their members.
Hacks are not uncommon where cryptocurrency is concerned, with more than $3.7 billion having been stolen last year. This year, though, did appear to show that this figure was on the decline - perhaps with the improvement of security technologies - as the first quarter of the year had shown a drop of 70%. It has been reported that $656 million had been lost as a result of scams and hacks over the first six months of 2023, in comparison to $1.91 billion that was reported to have been lost in the same period 12 months earlier. Of that amount stolen, around 45.5% has been recovered this year, while only 8% had been returned last year.
Stake is one of the biggest crypto casinos
The news of the $40 million+ hack will not have done Stake too many favors. However, the Australian brand can start to do a bit of a positive rebuilding because of its reputation and image around the world and in the crypto gambling industry.
It is one of the biggest, with it having reported to have made more than $2.6 billion in revenue in 2022. It has become one of the most popular to use for many who like to wager with the preferred virtual currency, especially in countries where traditional iGaming activities are not as widely available. Americans are among those who have started to use the brand, as they can enjoy a range of games via their social casino site, Stake.us, and obtain a positive casino gaming experience with the use of bonus codes.
Why is crypto gaming on the rise?
Aside from the fact that players in countries and jurisdictions are able to enjoy crypto gambling more freely than they can by more traditional means, there have been numerous reasons why using digital currency has proven to be more popular than fiat currency. Many in countries where gambling is legal with the national currency have experienced vast growth in terms of crypto wagering, too.
Among the reasons include the security and safety that using crypto can provide. Players are typically protected when using crypto as their identities are hidden due to a layer of anonymity that is provided. Additionally, each transaction will appear on a blockchain or as part of a smart contract, meaning they can be traced and encrypted immediately. Elsewhere, it is also possible to enjoy faster transaction speeds while conversion costs such as exchange rates and processing fees are eliminated.
Will players continue to use crypto amid the hacking debacle?
While the news of a $40 million+ hack will not have been greatly received by anyone involved, it would not be a surprise if we were to continue to see the usage of cryptocurrency for gambling purposes.
As highlighted, there are numerous benefits that can be experienced by users of virtual currency, with many of them providing so much more than what traditional fiat currency can offer. Many will see the hack as an unfortunate circumstance and will likely have felt reassured that none of their own funds had been stolen in the hack.
With this in mind, there is likely to be some change in terms of player count, but perhaps not as drastic as many may first assume when they hear that more than $40 million had been lost.
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