200 Bitcoin hacked from Core Developer 😱 - Details Still Unclear
💡 Daily Reminder: Stay humble, stack sats
Bitcoiners,
Today, prolific Bitcoin Core developer, Luke Dash Jr., had 200 bitcoin (~$3.3 million) stolen from him by an unknown hacker.
Here is an overview of what we know so far, a background on Bitcoin Core and Luke Dash Jr, and the significance of understanding hot vs cold wallets so this does not happen to you or your loved ones.
The News
Leading up to the announcement this morning, Luke posted some suspicious activity about an unknown entity accessing his server on November 22nd, 2022.
About a month later, Luke reported similar compromises to his servers.
Then today, most of his bitcoin stored in a hot wallet was stolen.
Bitcoin Core and Luke Dash Jr.
Bitcoin Core is the open-sourced software built upon Satoshi Nakamoto's original code that enforces rules to determine the valid bitcoin blockchain that everyone uses.
Bitcoin Core developers are essential to maintaining bitcoin's code along with implementing upgrades or changes known as BIPs.
Luke Dash Jr. is an expert software developer that has made over 200+ contributions to Bitcoin Core since joining the community in 2011 making him one of the most prolific developers contributing to the success of bitcoin in its entire history.
Where Luke Messed Up
Luke stated that he stored most of his bitcoin in a hot wallet, which personally baffles me because most beginners understand the security risk of keeping a significant amount of bitcoin in a hot wallet.
To get you up to speed, cold wallets are by definition not connected to the internet and hot wallets are connected to the internet making them more vulnerable to exploits and hacks.
To avoid a mistake similar to Luke's, I suggest understanding basic bitcoin custody principles or hiring a reputable 3rd party service such as Unchained Capital to assist with custody.
If you want to learn more about hot vs cold wallets, see my previous article:
Happy Sunday,
-Pod
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Eric Podwojski
Founder, Bitcoin EDU
Twitter:Â @epodrulz
Disclaimer: This should go without saying: This is not financial advice. This is not investment advice. I write this newsletter for education and entertainment. Act accordingly.
Do you know what ‘server’ means in this case? Cloud based server or local server?