Fraternidade Crypto, a famous Brazilian crypto streamer, suffered significant financial loss due to a private critical mishap. These kinds of incidents shed light on the importance of security in the world of digital assets.
Fraternidade Crypto’s Loss of Private Keys
On August 29, Fraternidade Crypto channel owner and operator Ivan Bianco unintentionally released his private key for a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet during a live-streamed YouTube session. This incident raised several questions about the security of private keys for crypto wallets, and it caused a chain of unexpected events.
Biano hosted a live broadcast on his YouTube channel about cryptocurrency in which he talked about Bitcoin and blockchain-based games. He tried to access his private key and information for a blockchain-based gaming site known as Gala Games. Unfortunately, he kept the passwords for Gala Games in the same text file as the seed phrase for his MetaMask wallet. This wallet held a lot of Polygon’s MATIC cryptocurrency.
The Aftermath of Crypto Streamer’s Issue
Bianco ended the live stream quickly after accidentally showing the text file that contained two private keys. Now, anyone with these private keys could access Bianco’s cryptocurrency wallets. Even though Bianco stopped the livestream, it was too late to prevent unauthorised individuals from accessing his cryptocurrency holdings.
Fraternidade Crypto started a new live stream to address the situation. He told his audience that one of his viewers had quickly used the private keys to get into his MetaMask wallet and stole all his 86,000 MATIC tokens. At the time of this unfortunate incident, the value of these tokens amounted to approximately $50,000.
Crypto Streamer Plead for Recovery
In an emotionally charged video that followed the incident, Bianco said, “I accidentally displayed my private key during the live stream, and the individual swiftly transferred the funds to another address. I attempted to terminate the broadcast and transfer the cryptocurrency to a different address, but my actions were in vain.”
Baino even shared a link to the Polygon address associated with the unknown perpetrator. Subsequently, 86,000 MATIC tokens began circulating among different cryptocurrency addresses. This circulation made matters worse and raised the complexity of the situation.
Bianco made a heartrending plea, revealing that he had lost his entire life savings due to this incident. He even implored the viewer who had acquired his funds to consider returning them in exchange for a reward.
Furthermore, he intended to file a formal complaint with the local authorities, highlighting that approximately 70 individuals had witnessed the unfortunate livestream.
During these distressing circumstances, some online sources have suggested that Fraternidade Crypto may have recovered some of his lost funds. Local cryptocurrency executive Guilherme Rennó took to social media on August 30 to report rumors suggesting Bianco had managed to reclaim a “significant portion of the funds.”
Bianco confirmed that he had recovered 86,000 MATIC tokens but was still recuperating his non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Additionally, he mentioned that he had incurred losses of Ether on the ARB network.
“Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins”: A Future Reminder
This incident of crypto streamers is a stark reminder of the importance of safeguarding private keys when navigating the self-custody realm within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Crypto users are strongly advised to exercise extreme caution when handling private keys or seed phrases.
Even though self-custody lets users “be their own bank,” there are still many risks with this way of keeping crypto, such as theft, loss, or damage. “Not your keys, not your coins” is a famous phrase in the cryptocurrency community that warns users about these risks. Once the owner of a self-custody wallet gives their private keys to someone else, they no longer own the funds. This crypto streamer incident shows is because of how crypto works.
