Vitalik Buterin Hack Sees Iconic NFT Stolen

On Sep 11, 2023

In what may go down as one of the most brazen acts of hoodwinkery in the crypto sphere, fraudsters managed to compromise Vitalik Buterin’s Twitter account to execute a $690k blockchain heist.

In the early hours of September 10, unsavory characters took control of the Ethereum founder’s Twitter account. After which, they proceeded to advertise a bogus 24-hour open NFT mint to commemorate ‘Proto-Danksharding’ coming to Ethereum. However, those that ventured to click on the link found themselves on the wrong end of a wallet draining attack.

While the hack was still in its infancy, the crypto Twitter community worked quickly to spread the word that all was not as it seems. Despite this, a significant number of Mr. Buterin’s 4.9 million followers had fallen for the despicable ruse.

An Iconic NFT Lost in the Crossfire

As the community stepped back from the fallout to assess the damage caused, it calculated losses at around $690k. However, among the waylaid assets, Twitter user, EvanLuthra.eth, has also identified an iconic NFT as one of the purloined items. As a result, the hood-shrouded and bespeckled CryptoPunk #3983 changed hands before being immediately sold to the tune of 155 ETH.

The NFT in question holds a significant position in NFT folklore, reportedly representing the first-ever publicly-claimed CryptoPunk. An event that required the intervention of Vitalik Buterin at the time due to the early nature of the technology involved.

Vitalik’s 𝕏 account was hacked a few hours ago!
$800k+ has been drained so far!
In the hack, we just lost an iconic NFT.
It wasn’t a normal punk; we lost the first publicly-claimed punk, essentially the very first NFT ever minted.
It was so iconic, that Vitalik Buterin… pic.twitter.com/onWbHq6bFU
— EvanLuthra.eth (@EvanLuthra) September 10, 2023

This latest hack has sent shockwaves through the NFT industry as it involves one of the biggest names in crypto. Effectively, highlighting that through the security protocols of legacy platforms such as Twitter, nobody is safe.

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