The actor was raising money for charity by selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
This is a news that is not going to help the reputation of the crypto industry much.
It must even be said that it will tarnish the image of this young industry which tries to attract the masses by trying to convince that safety is at the heart of its concerns.
The problem is that retail investors who are still new to the sector do not have sufficient confidence that their assets will not suddenly disappear. And when a spectacular hack occurs, we can legitimately expect that distrust of the crypto industry will increase even further.
This is what will undoubtedly happen after a hacker(s) stole funds raised by actor Bill Murray to support a charity. Indeed, the actor auctioned non-fungible tokens (NFTs) during a special evening dubbed a “Beer With Bill Murray” NFT collectible on September 1.
The sale raised 119.2 ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum platform on which NFTs are created or minted. Given the current price of ETH ($1,565.88 for one ether), Murray had managed to raise the equivalent of $187,000.
The actor and his team had promised to donate the funds to a non-profit helping veterans and first responders.
Murray’s Personal NFT Collection Targeted
Only a few hours after the auction a hacker or hackers began to empty Murray’s wallet, according to on-chain data from Etherscan. The hacker (s) also tried to steal NFTs from Murray, reports Coindesk.com, which was the first to reveal this information. Murray’s team was able to protect about 800 NFTs in Murray’s collection.
“Last evening Bill’s wallet was hacked in a coordinated effort by hackers that stole the funds raised in the auction,” confirmed on Twitter Project Venkman, a partner in the NFT auction. “We will not stand for that. We’re raising funds to support Evelyn and all the other recipients whose lives we intended to change.https://gofundme.com/f/getting-evelyns-van-back.”
Project Venkman has launched a GoFundMe campaign to try to recover a small portion of the lost money. Chive Charities, the nonprofit that was to benefit from the funds raised, announced that it raised $36,990 well above the $25,000 target.
Murray’s team told Coindesk that it’s filed a police report and is working with crypto analytics firm Chainalysis to bring the attacker to justice.
This spectacular hack suggests that no one is safe from hackers in the crypto industry even when you are a celebrity.
