Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently experienced a Twitter hack that resulted in the theft of $691,000 from users who followed a compromised link posted on his account. The incident came to light when a post on Buterin’s Twitter account announced the release of commemorative non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by software vendor Consensys.
The malicious link within the post lured victims into connecting their wallets to mint these NFTs. However, instead of creating tokens, the connection allowed the hacker to steal funds from the victims.
Although crypto-savvy users on Crypto Twitter quickly recognized the fraudulent link, the first confirmation of Buterin’s hack came from his father, Dmitriy “Dima” Buterin. Several victims reported losing access to their wallet funds.
According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the hacker managed to steal approximately $147,000 initially, but this amount later ballooned to $691,000. The hacker also sent a stolen “Vitalik Elementals” NFT to Buterin himself.
As of the time of reporting, Vitalik Buterin had not publicly commented on the incident, and his latest Twitter post was a retweet from September 6. The precise number of users affected by the hack remains uncertain, but this incident underscores the importance of vigilance and caution when engaging with cryptocurrency-related content on social media platforms.
