200 BTC Hackers Steal, Here's The Bitcoin Core Developer's Fate!

Bitcoin core developer must lose about 200 BTC. (Photo; Doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA Bitcoin was created by a figure using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, a figure whose identity is mysterious and no one knows it until this moment. Even so, Bitcoin has a number of developers who still operate the system. They are commonly called Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin core developer.

According to a recent report, one of Bitcoin's core developers named Luke Dashjr is reported to have lost about 200 of his Bitcoins (BTC). He admitted that his personal keys had been compromised by hackers the night before the New Year celebrations. On December 31, 2022, all of his Bitcoins disappeared.

In a January 1 post on Twitter, the developer said that alleged hackers had somehow gained access to the PGP key (Pretty Good Privacy), a general security method that uses two keys to gain access to encrypted information.

In the upload, Dashjr shared information about his BTC flowing to a number of hacker wallet addresses. Even so, he was unable to do anything because his PGP was compromised and asked for help from the crypto community.

My PGP keys were compromised, and at least a lot of bitcoins I was stolen. I don't know how. Please help. #Bitcoin," wrote Luke Dashjr @LukeDashjr, January 1, 2023.

At the time of writing the wallet address in question showed four transactions between 2:08 and 2:16 UTC on December 31, for a total of 216.93 BTC - worth 3.6 million US dollars at the current price.

On the other hand, Dashjr "don't know how" the attackers got access to the key, although some in the community have shown possible relationships with Dashjr's previous Twitter post on November 17 noting that his server had entered "new mallware/backdoors on the system."

My server was accessed this morning by an unknown person. A complete analysis is ongoing, but be careful that you verify any downloads of PGP. #Bitcoin," Dashjr said in a post on November 17, 2022.

Dashjr told users in his latest Twitter thread that he was just aware of a recent hack after getting emails from Coinbase and Kraken about login attempts. The incident also caught the attention of Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who offered his condolences and support in January 1st.

Debor of Binance boss Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) as the founder of the world's largest crypto trading company by trading volume, Binance, also commented on the condition of the Bitcoin core developer who lost more than 200 BTC. Not only that, CZ also provided assistance to monitor Dashjr's BTC flow movement.

"Sorry to see you lost so much. Inform our security team to monitor. If it comes in our way, we will freeze it. If there are other things we can help, please let us know. We often deal with this, and have law enforcement relations (LE) around the world," said CZ.

Luke Dashjr's 200 more Bitcoin losses have sparked debate among the crypto community. Some speculated the cause of the loss was the vulnerability of the computer's security system, especially on November 17, which befell Dashjr.

Then other communities considered that it might not be hacking at all. It just shows that someone somehow finds a seed phase to open a private crypto wallet.

Meanwhile, one of the leading crypto news outlets, Cointelegraph, reported contacting Dashjr via Twitter for further information regarding the hacking incident that happened to him. However, Dashjr did not recall the attempt.