How Mark Cuban Got Hacked, Losing Nearly $1 Million in Crypto

Billionaire Mark Cuban fell victim to a wallet hack yesterday, which resulted in the theft of approximately $870,000 in crypto. Seizing this incident as a teaching moment, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao urged the community to prioritize their crypto security.

Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytical firm, reported that Cuban managed to prevent a more significant loss by swiftly transferring his remaining assets to Coinbase before the hacker could seize them all.

Mark Cuban Was Hacked

On-chain analyst WazzCrypto was the first to report on the $870,000 breach. According to the analyst, the attacker targeted a wallet that had lain dormant for nearly 160 days before the exploit.

At first, it seemed Mark Cuban was transferring his assets to a new wallet. However, irregularities in the transaction pattern raised suspicions.

WazzCrypto highlighted that the owner of the Dallas Mavericks managed to transfer approximately $2.5 million in USDC to Coinbase, thwarting the attacker’s plans to snatch those funds as well.

“[Mark Cuban] transfered $2M $USDC he had on Matic too, but to a different wallet than the ETH one. Seeing as he made a test tx first this time, Im gonna assume it’s actually him moving funds here,” WazzCrypto noted.

Cuban later confirmed the hack, stating it happened after he downloaded a version of MetaMask with malware.

“I’m pretty sure I downloaded a version of MetaMask with some sh*t in it. MetaMask crashed a couple times. I just stopped.. So I locked my NFTs on OpenSea. Transferred all my Polygon in the account,” Cuban said.

It is worth noting that Cuban stands out as a prominent figure in the crypto market. He has backed several crypto projects, including OpenSea, and champions pro-crypto legislation.

Reacting to Cuban’s misfortune, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) shared insights on how individuals can better protect their crypto assets. He shared a comprehensive article detailing preventive measures against potential thefts, emphasizing that even seasoned users are susceptible.

In his post, CZ discussed methods for securing private keys and facilitating their secure transfer to heirs. CZ has been proactively guiding the community on crypto asset security of late.

“Even or especially when you manage your own wallet, there are many more security procedures you need to follow,” CZ added.