Key takeaways:
- Brazilian crypto streamer Fraternidade Crypto lost thousands due to accidental private key exposure.
- Ivan Bianco, during a YouTube live stream, inadvertently revealed himself-custody wallet’s private key.
Brazilian crypto influencer Ivan Bianco, also known as Fraternidade Crypto, recently suffered a devastating loss of over $60,000 during a live stream. In a moment of unfortunate oversight, he inadvertently revealed his private keys to his audience.
Upon realizing the gravity of his mistake, Bianco halted the stream and attempted to secure his funds. Regrettably, malicious actors had already siphoned off approximately $60,000 from two of his wallets, leaving him in despair. This mishap occurred during a livestream focused on Bitcoin and blockchain games.
During the stream, Bianco attempted to access his Gala Games platform passwords from a text file on his computer. Unfortunately, these Gala Games credentials were stored in the same file as the seed phrase for his MetaMask wallet, which contained a substantial amount of Polygon’s MATIC.
Following the accidental exposure of the text file containing two private keys for his crypto wallets, Bianco ended the livestream, but by then, the damage had already been done, and his funds were irretrievably lost.
Fortunately, Bianco experienced a stroke of luck when the thief voluntarily contacted him, expressing remorse for their actions and returning $50,000 of the stolen funds. Bianco, aware of the thief’s identity, chose to keep it undisclosed.
In a message to his viewers, he explained:
“I won’t reveal his name because he returned the money, and there’s no need for me to expose him, even though his actions were wrong.”
Bianco disclosed his commitment to recovering the remaining $10,000 and mentioned his collaboration with law enforcement to pursue other individuals involved in the illicit transactions.
Bianco’s ordeal highlights the growing concern surrounding crypto fraud. Notably, government agencies in the United Kingdom and the United States recently issued a report cautioning crypto users about a new malware strain targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets.
The crypto streamer is actively pursuing the recovery of the remaining $10,000. By meticulously examining transactions that occurred immediately after the inadvertent exposure, several individuals who attempted to transfer his funds have been identified.
Among them, one address successfully withdrew over 1.2 ETH ($1,900). This address is presently under scrutiny by both the streamer’s contacts and law enforcement.
Regarding the videos that remain accessible, Fraternidade Crypto has decided to keep them accessible. He stated, “I will keep these videos online as a cautionary tale for everyone. I’ve already suffered the loss, and it won’t change anything… so, why not?”
