Blockchain YouTuber Loses $60,000 Worth of Cryptocurrency and NFTs
Accidental Revelation of Seed Phrases Leads to Theft
Ivan Bianco, a blockchain gaming-focused YouTuber based in Brazil, who runs the channel Fraternidade Crypto, had nearly $60,000 worth of cryptocurrency and a stash of NFTs stolen this week after accidentally revealing his crypto wallets’ seed phrases during a livestream.
Livestream Mishap
During the stream, Bianco opened a document that revealed his seed phrases, a move that allowed unknown individuals to take control of his wallets and allegedly steal his funds.
Channel Details
Fraternidade Crypto has approximately 34,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 2.2 million views across all videos since 2017.
Emotional Response
On a subsequent livestream, Bianco was seen crying and explaining to viewers what had happened. He said that he tried to create a new wallet once he realized that he’d exposed his seed phrases, but the cryptocurrency from two wallets had already been taken within minutes.
Amount Stolen
Bianco shared the address for the Polygon wallet that swiped about 86,600 MATIC, which was worth about $50,800 at the time of the theft. Another 3.35 ETH ($5,750) worth of his stolen funds are still stuck in someone else’s wallet on Arbitrum, according to the streamer. Other, smaller amounts of crypto were also allegedly swiped by other users.
Police Report
Bianco confirmed to Decrypt via email that he lost roughly $60,000 total worth of tokens along with NFTs. He filed a police report after losing the funds and has spoken with the police. However, he believes that it may take time for them to understand the situation and recover the stolen assets.
Contact from the Thief
After the funds were stolen, Bianco said that an unidentified man contacted him on Discord. They connected for a call, and Bianco claims that the individual said he had stolen the YouTuber’s crypto and regretted his actions. The majority of the stolen funds were returned to Bianco after the call.
Learning from the Incident
Bianco hopes that the videos of the incident can serve as a warning to others to not repeat his mistake. He also mentioned that the other individuals who stole smaller amounts of cryptocurrency from his wallet are being tracked and will be located.
