According to Cointelegraph: A core developer of the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), Cypher Protocol, has admitted to stealing nearly $300,000 of user funds and gambling them away, causing significant concern in the crypto industry. The developer, known pseudonymously as Hoak, confessed to his misdeeds in a public statement on May 14th.
Despite involving more than 36 withdrawals from Cypher's redemption contract, Hoak's actions had gone unnoticed for months. It only came to light after a Discord group member reported issues with fund withdrawals.
According to Barrett_io, a pseudonymous core contributor, $317,000 worth of Solana, Tether, and USDC were sent by an address associated with Hoak to Binance exchange.
CoinStats data reveals that at one point, Hoak's wallet held a total of $68,365 worth of digital assets before being transferred to Binance.
Cypher Protocol has been hit hard by this incident, having already lost over $1 million worth of digital assets in a hack in August 2023.
Hoak cited his "crippling gambling addiction" as the underlying reason for the thefts. This incident offers a grim reminder of the criticism often levelled at the crypto industry, likening it to casino-like activities. A 2023 YouGov survey found that individuals gambling at harmful levels were almost five times more likely to own cryptocurrencies, making them more susceptible to losses linked to crypto trading.
