$5.7M stolen in Roll crypto heist after hot wallet hacked – TechCrunch
A security breach at cryptocurrency platform Roll allowed a hacker to obtain the private key to its hot wallet and steal its contents — worth about $5.7 million.
In a statement, the company said it was investigating the breach, which happened early Sunday.
“As of this writing, it seems like a compromise of the private keys [sic] of our hot wallet and not a bug in the Roll smart contracts or any token contracts,” the statement said. Roll said the attacker had already sold the tokens for Ethereum.
“There is no further user action suggested at this stage. We are temporarily disabling withdraw from the Roll wallet of all social money until we have migrated our hot wallet,” the statement added.
It’s not clear how the attacker broke in and obtained the private key — akin to the password for Roll’s hot wallet. Hot wallets are designed to be connected to the internet to send and receive cryptocurrency, but typically only store a fraction of a cryptocurrency owner’s total reserves, given the inherent security risk of an internet-connected wallet. A cold wallet, or storage device that isn’t connected to the internet, is typically used for holding the bulk of an owner’s cryptocurrency for longer-term periods.
Roll allows creators to mint and distribute their own Ethereum-based cryptocurrency, known as social tokens, under which the creators can decide how the currency is spent. There are hundreds of different kinds of social currency on the platform, including $WHALE, $RARE and $PICA tokens — which plummeted in value in the aftermath of the breach.
The creator of the $WHALE token said in a tweet more than 2% of its tokens were stolen in the Roll breach, but that the hack was “minimally detrimental” to the project.
Others weren’t so lucky. One person said they had “lost everything,” while others criticized for not going far enough Roll’s new $500,000 fund to help affected creators.
Roll said it will hire a third-party to audit its security infrastructure to prevent another breach. “We will also run a forensic analysis to figure out how the key was compromised,” the statement said.
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What a crypto executive wishes investors knew before buying bitcoin for the first time
Bitcoin is trending upward again, with the cryptocurrency briefly topping the $60,000 mark for the first time ever on Saturday. As recently as September 2020, one bitcoin was worth just over $10,000, and the recent rally has prompted more investors to get into crypto for the first time. But many new investors are jumping feet first into the volatile crypto market without being fully aware of what they’re getting into. CNBC Make It spoke with Adam Traidman, CEO and co-founder of BRD, a popular crypto wallet that boasts more than 7 million users, about the biggest mistakes he sees newcomers making, as well as some tips to avoid them.
They’re surprised by bitcoin’s volatility
Bitcoin is prone to major valuation swings as whales — the term for large institutional investors — buy and sell massive quantities. New investors should go in with clear eyes and brace themselves for major dips and spikes. Traidman says that anyone considering buying bitcoin should get familiar with its movements so as to not get scared into selling their holdings if they see a drop soon after they buy. “[When bitcoin broke] $50,000, a bunch of new people bought in, and then you had savvy whales who took their winnings and caused a pullback,” he explains. “And then some spooked investors sold, and the whales bought back in [at a lower price].” New investors should strive to be unfazed when they see major movements, whether they’re positive or negative, Traidman says. “Be aware that if you put in X amount of money, there will be a time when you open your wallet and are down 30%,” he says. “There will also be a time when you’re up 2x.”
They don’t go in with a plan and let themselves get greedy
One of the most important things a new crypto investor can do is know their goals. Too often, Traidman says, new investors get enamored by quick increases in the value of their holdings and decide to see if it goes up any more. Instead, they should sell if they hit their targets. “When you have a situation where your money is up 2x or 3x, you’ll think that it was too easy,” he says. “Stick to your guns and don’t get greedy. If your goal is 2x [growth], and you hit that, sell it and be thankful that you hit your number.” He adds that new investors often get caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations of the coin. A better strategy, Traidman argues, would be to “buy, hold and forget about it” for at least a year. “If you look at it every day, it can be nerve-wracking,” he says. “We crypto crazy people do that, but I don’t think it’s the right move for the average casual investor.”
They try to time the market
One of the biggest mistakes Traidman sees new investors making is trying to wait to buy bitcoin at the cheapest price possible, only to get upset if it goes even lower after they make their purchase. To avoid this, Traidman advises new investors to use the dollar-cost average strategy — buying a little bit of bitcoin every day at a wider range of prices — to build their holdings over time. “Don’t just go in and buy $5,000 worth of bitcoin,” he says, adding that it is more helpful psychologically to not have a single price at which you bought bitcoin that your brain fixates on. He adds that there’s no amount of bitcoin a person can buy that makes it a good or bad investment, and that investors should only buy as much as they’re comfortable losing if its value were to drop.
They get sucked into the world of altcoins
India’s crypto turmoil could be driving Bitcoin down - CityAM
Suggestions that the Indian government may introduce an outright ban on cryptocurrency could be the trigger behind Bitcoin’s volatile 48 hours and drop below $55,000.
Bitcoin (BTC) was flying only three days ago, setting an all-time-high as it broke $60,000 with conviction.
The price looked like it was preparing to bed in while it gathered support in unchartered territory, but the signs of something being amiss were beginning to show up on the charts in the early hours of Monday morning as New Dehli was waking up.
Rumours of the Indian government’s apparent desire to outlaw cryptocurrency have been circulating for several years, but the fires of disregard to digital assets were being fully stoked this week as news of a draft bill detailing the ban began to emerge.
A tip-off from a senior government official leaked some of the details which suggested anyone found mining or owning cryptocurrency in India would face asset seizures, fines or even prison sentences.
It is understood the bill, if passed, would come with a six-month grace period to allow anyone holding cryptocurrencies time to dispose of their assets.
This potential amnesty, say analysts, is the driving force behind Bitcoin’s tumble from a high of $61,701 on Saturday, to a depth of $54,013 earlier this morning.
The situation in India paints a sudden and dark backdrop to what had been Bitcoin’s brightest spell in the flagship cryptocurrency’s 12-year-history.
Stimulus cheques
After solidifying support above $58,000, BTC looked to be building strongly and preparing to load up with US stimulus cheques in the coming weeks. Coupled with continual adoption from global institutions, the outlook of fresh investment was leaving the majority of commentators in bullish mood.
Few, however, had envisaged the spectre of the Indian government’s hostility towards crypto reappearing to throw a spanner in the works and triggering a flurry of sell orders.
Technical analysts are currently dissecting a mixed bag of information, with a fair split of opinions as to where the gravitational pull on Bitcoin currently sits.
Some suggest there is strong support at $51,000 and $49,500 which could lead to a bounce back up to the weekend’s highs, providing the investment predictions of Americans waving their stimulus cheques at crypto exchanges ring true.
Others claim the charts point to $54,000 being the line of defence that will hold Bitcoin steady.
Of the thousands of lines being drawn on countless charts today, there is no denying the market has taken on a bearish influence as the bulls steel into defensive mode.
Should those defences at $54,000 hold robustly enough to keep any bearish sentiment at bay, the bulls can strengthen and return to attack mode.
The crypto compass is currently in the hands of the Indian government and the American people.