Last updated on September 4, 2023 8:53 am
Ivan Bianco, a Portuguese YouTuber who is into blockchain-based game streams, has reportedly lost around $60,000 in Bitcoin and NFTs. The loss apparently occurred when he accidentally revealed the seed words associated with his crypto wallet during a live stream.
His channel has 34K followers and has received over 2.2 million views since it launched in 2017.
Ivan Bianco Livestream
According to a report published by Kate Irwin for Decrypt, Bianco opened a document with his seed words during a Live webcast on August 30, 2023. Reportedly, due to this error, unknown people took control of his crypto wallet and sent his assets in some unknown wallet.
Bianco realized his mistake and tried to create a new wallet, but the funds from his two wallets were removed within seconds.
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An emotional Bianco explained the matter to viewers in a subsequent webcast. He stated that 86,600 MATIC tokens, worth approximately $50,800 at the time, were withdrawn from his Polygon wallet. Additionally, 3.35 ETH (approximately US$5,750) remained locked in someone else's Arbitrum wallet.
Bianco confirmed via email to CryptoCurrency Pandit that the total loss of tokens and NFTs was approximately $60,000. He also said that he has lodged a police complaint regarding the incident. However, he expressed doubt over the police’s understanding of the problem and pointed out that it would certainly take time to solve it.
Speaking about the experience, Fraternided Krypto said,
My mother came. You get that feeling, you know life is over. But then I came to Discord looking for answers – the goal was to start moving forward, because there’s no use crying over and over.
How has Ivan recovered part of the lost money?
After returning from the police station, he checked his Discord. One of his followers sent him a message: “Ivan, I need to talk to you.”
He almost told him:
I can’t talk anymore, I’m in trouble over here.’ But he called me and after a conversation the funds were transferred back.
He (the thief) said, I’m here; I know what I did was bad,’ and he hung up the phone and left, the live streamer reported.
Nearly $50,000 was returned, but some people in the chat weren’t convinced about the status; as per them, it wasn’t genuine. Ivan said,
Why would I do this? I didn’t do anything to recover it. The person wanted to return it for some reason.
Who was the thief?
I won’t say his name because the guy returned it, and there’s no reason for me to screw him, even though what he did was wrong. Maybe I went soft. I’m ashamed of going through this. I just want to sleep.
The cryptocurrency streamer is currently taking action to get the remaining $10,000 back. Several people made an effort to move his funds, going through transactions done right away after the error. Contacts with the streamer and law enforcement are now looking into one address that received more than 1.2 ETH ($1,900).
Crypto Safety Measures
Bianco believes this tragedy serves as a warning to others to be more careful with their digital assets.
There is nothing more important than the security of a private key when it comes to the self-custody of crypto. It’s crucial to be very careful when handling a private key or a seed phrase, and for some, it might be a better idea to opt for custodial solutions, such as exchanges, instead. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts recommend investors diversify the types of cryptocurrency storage in order to prevent losses of their entire life savings as well.
While self-custody allows users to essentially “be their own bank,” such a method of holding crypto is still prone to many risks, such as theft, destruction, or loss. “Not your keys, not your coins” is a popular expression in the cryptocurrency community that warns users about such risks. Once a user of a self-custody wallet exposes their private keys to someone else, the former is no longer the owner of the funds, according to the rules of crypto.
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