Stake insists user funds are safe after reported $41m hack

Stake has announced that all user funds are safe after a reported $41m hack at the crypto-first operator.

The hack was first reported by on-chain analysts at Cyver, that noted an initial $16m had been siphoned from the operator.

The withdrawing account, named Stake.com Hacker, as disclosed on blockchain analysis platform Etherscan, moved 6,000 ether, valued at approximately $9.8m.

The hacker also removed tether, USD Coin and DAI from Stake, taking the initial hack up to $16m.

Further reports from smart contract auditor Beosin noted the attack extended to other blockchain networks, including Polygon and Binance Smart Chain.

The additional hack reportedly saw $7.8m lost on Polygon with a further $17.8m stolen on the Binance Smart Chain.

Yesterday evening (4 September), hours after the initial hack was reported by Cyver, Stake made a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, to confirm unauthorised transactions had taken place.

Stake said: “Three hours ago, unauthorised txs [transactions] were made from Stake’s ETH/BSC hot wallets.

“We are investigating and will get the wallets up as soon as they’re completely re-secured. User funds are safe.”

Stake confirmed that other wallets, including bitcoin and litecoin, had remained unimpacted by the hack.

Stake CEO Ed Craven also put his head above the parapet to weigh in on the situation.

Craven said: “Stake keeps a small portion of its crypto reserves in hot wallets at any given moment for these very reasons. All affected wallets should be operational shortly.”

Four hours after addressing the situation, Stake confirmed all services had resumed, with deposits and withdrawals having been temporarily suspended.

Craven added: “Shoutout to the team for such a quick turnaround. Despite some dramatic headlines, as always Stake has everything under control.”