Drake-Backed Crypto Casino Stake Loses $40M in 'Suspicious Transfers'

Hack or "maintenance"? Funds appear to rapidly be leaving the crypto gambling platform.

Popular crypto betting platform Stake appears to have been exploited, losing around $40 million in funds, blockchain security experts said today.

The gambling firm, which is backed by rapper Drake, experienced multiple unusual transactions Monday morning Eastern Time with around $16 million in Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin and DAI leaving the platform, Web3 security firm Cyvers first said on Twitter. Another $25 million was drained on Binance Smart Chain and Polygon, according to pseudonymous crypto sleuth ZachXBT.

Blockchain security firm Peckshield then told Decrypt that the transfers looked “suspicious” if the platform was not under maintenance.

Stake, which allows users to bet on sports games and play casino games with cryptocurrencies, did not immediately reply to Decrypt’s request for comment.

At the time of writing it had also not responded to any of the security firms on Twitter.

Cyvers posted on Twitter an address which had received the crypto. It noted that the stablecoins which had left Stake were then converted into Ethereum, the second biggest digital asset.

MetaMask Lead Product Manager and security expert Taylor Monahan noted on Twitter that the "Stake hackers [are] looking quite methodical," posting a visual of the wallet transfers from the suspected hackers so far.

Stake is a popular betting platform endorsed by a number of celebrities, most notably Drake. According to the Financial Times, the rapper signed a $100 million a year endorsement deal with Stake in 2022.

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