Crypto Platform Hit by $7 Million Theft: Site Taken Offline; What Happens to Users’ Funds?
Crypto gambling platform Duelbits temporarily took its site offline after about $7 million was stolen from its hot wallets. Co-founder Joe said user funds are safe.
According to CoinDesk, Joe confirmed the September 24 attack on X and said the exact circumstances were under investigation. He said the platform would remain offline until the investigation was complete and the hot wallets were funded again. No firm reopening date was given.
The claim that users’ money is safe came from the platform’s management. Although the loss of about $7 million has been confirmed, the source did not report that it would be reflected in customer balances.
Wallets on multiple networks targeted
Blockchain security company Scam Sniffer detected funds being sent from Duelbits’ hot wallets on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Tron to newly created addresses. The company later reported that 8.1 BTC had also been stolen from a Bitcoin hot wallet.
The private keys controlling these internet-connected wallets are suspected to have been compromised. However, the exact method of the attack has not yet been disclosed.
Most of the stolen funds are in one address
According to Etherscan data cited by CoinDesk, within minutes, 836 ETH, about 593,000 USDT, 97,000 USDC, 31,500 DAI, and 12.4 billion SHIB were sent from an Ethereum wallet labeled Duelbits to an attacker’s address. At the time the source reviewed it, less than $25 worth of ETH remained in the wallet. This figure refers to the ETH balance of that wallet, not the total assets across all networks.
Most of the stolen assets were later converted to ETH and consolidated in a new address. That address held about 2,234 ETH, worth about $6 million at the prices used by the source. This amount is not an additional loss on top of the $7 million, but the balance containing most of the stolen assets. As of the time of CoinDesk’s report, the funds had not been moved from that address.
In a separate statement, Duelbits said it was investigating the incident as a security breach and had taken the site offline as a precaution. The statements describe an interruption while the investigation is underway and the wallets are funded again, not a permanent shutdown.