A Bitcoiner lost $91 million in a single transaction to a social engineering attack on Tuesday, with funds then sent to a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT.

The victim was deceived by impostors posing as crypto exchange and hardware wallet support, losing 783 Bitcoin (BTC) in a single transaction, ZachXBT said in an X post on Thursday.

Blockchain data shows the theft occurred on Tuesday at 11:06 am UTC, and the exploiter started laundering the stolen funds a day later through the Bitcoin privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet to conceal the trail of the stolen funds, ZachXBT said. 

Social engineering attacks involve attackers tricking people into revealing sensitive information, such as their private keys or passwords, allowing attackers to steal the funds. These exploits have been rampant in crypto, targeting everyone from sophisticated crypto investors to the elderly. 

Asked how one can avoid being socially engineered, ZachXBT said to assume every call or email received is a “scam by default.”

ZachXBT rules out North Korea hackers

While ZachXBT didn’t name any suspects, he ruled out the notorious North Korean state-backed Lazarus Group as a potential culprit.

The attacker received the funds at a clean Bitcoin wallet address — ‘bc1qyxyk’ — before using Wasabi Wallet’s privacy features to try to conceal them.

ZachXBT added that, coincidentally, the attack occurred exactly one year after the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.

Scammers impersonating hardware crypto wallet providers

Scammers have frequently impersonated crypto hardware wallet providers such as Ledger and Trezor using sophisticated methods.

In late April, scammers impersonating Ledger sent out letters posing as the company, asking users for secret recovery phrases to crypto wallets in an attempt to take control of the device. 

They claimed a “critical security update” needed to be performed on their devices and that failure to comply may “result in restricted access to your wallet and funds.”

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In the same month, an elderly US citizen lost over $330 million worth of Bitcoin to a social engineering attack, sending shockwaves through the industry.

Crypto theft is still a multibillion-dollar industry

More than $2.1 billion was stolen from crypto-related attacks across the first five months of 2025, with the bulk of losses coming from wallet compromises and phishing attacks, blockchain security firm CertiK said in June.

The largest incident by far was the $1.4 billion exploit of crypto exchange Bybit in February, highlighting that even large, extensively audited crypto platforms remain at risk.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoiner-loses-91m-in-social-engineering-attack-zachxbt/feed/ 0 54462 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/if-youre-not-using-nostr-is-it-also-a-bitcoiner/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/if-youre-not-using-nostr-is-it-also-a-bitcoiner/#respond Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:30:52 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/if-youre-not-using-nostr-is-it-also-a-bitcoiner/

Derek Ross calls Nostr “the foundation of a more open internet.” For him, bitcoyer, which does not use Nostr, lacks points. Looking at his feed, you will find Twitter Vibes from the early 2010s. “Microblog” was in use at the time. But what Ross is looking for in the future because of this innovative communication platform good Beyond food images, travel updates, and “good morning” messages. He is a co-founder of the Grow Nostr Initiative, deploys developer relationships for Soapbox.pub, and is one of the most prolific posters (and Zappers!) on social media.

There are quips about Nostr and Bitcoin (orange pills and purple pills). “Purple pills help orange tablets fall off. ”

In the aftermath of the Btchel Bitcoin Conference in Helsinki, Finland, we sat for breakfast and meditated on the post-meeting of Max. Ross’ passion for Nostol shines. Purple passion is a perfect complement to the orange that complements it. (At the exact same breakfast table, Ross had just convinced Swiss Cantonbern MP Samuel Kurman to return to Nostor.) In fact, he asked Marti Marmi, a Finnish developer, one of the first to communicate directly with Satoshi.

“Bitcoin is money freedom. Nostr is all other freedom.”

–

JB: “Purple pills help orange tablets go down.” Please tell me this statement and why you say it so often.

Derek Ross: I think I got it from Camellia in that era, but everyone is saying it now. I first posted it on February 24, 2023, and have been repeated many times since.

The idea is that Nostr, the purple pill, is the ideal companion for Bitcoin, orange medicine. I asked Marti on stage yesterday. And it’s true: even you can’t I have it If you don’t have freedom of communication, then money is free. Think about it – if I can’t communicate freely with you, how am I supposed to pay you? Nostr naturally complements Bitcoin.

JB: If you’re right, the Venn diagrams for Nostr and Bitcoin should not be completely duplicated…or at least all Is Bitcoiner available in Nostr? Why is Nostr not bigger than that?

Derek Ross: Well, it’s still a bit buggy and sometimes difficult to manage, but many good apps with a good user interface make it very easy.

But yes, all bitcoiners Should It will be NOSTR. People will hate me by saying this, but that means that not everyone in Bitcoin is here for the right reasons. They do not have the right mind. They are here not for freedom, but for green candles, for personal vanity and wealth, for the few candles. If you understand decentralized money, why not get decentralized communication?

One of the reasons Twitter and other platforms keep people up is that they built this massive audience and crowd over there. In Nostr, there is no algorithm that will help you (or catch you). Now you need to relear how to get engaged from your audience. But what? We at Bitcoiner are all about proof of work. You’ve built that audience once, you can do it again.

But I get it: it’s hard for some people to leave it.

JB: But you could do both, as did Lynn Alden.

Derek Ross: Lynn is a great example! She sometimes publishes very different things on Twitter and Nostr, and Nostr-Lyn is much more personal and reflective. On Twitter, she shares something macroeconomic and she is all professional. It’s a beautiful combination.

Another reason why Nostr is feeling very slow and Zaps is stagnant is that Bitcoin is in a bull market despite the technology currently being there. In the bull market, everyone wants to join Bitcoin’s Twitter. Nostr and Bitcoin are opposites here. Nostr is in the bear market when Bitcoin is in the bull market.

JB: Tell us about your background, how did you get into Nostr?

I’m not really a programmer… well, to the average person, I morningHowever, I think I’m only a system administrator. Manages systems and applications. I don’t create a full-fledged application. But now, thanks to the atmosphere coding, I am: By creating my first Nostr business, Nostr Plebs, I was able to make my building dream come true with Bitcoin. I was the first person to build a Nostrol business and I can put things together.

I first learned about Nostr from a Jack Dorsey tweet in December 2022 and called on developers to see how to fix social media.

I continued posting, zapping and building, and somehow I was invited to the Baltic Honey Badger in 2023. I used Nostr to crowdfund my travel expenses. fundamentally, If you’re hoping the community will go to me and talk about Nostr, zap this post. I’ve never been to Europe but I always wanted to go, so it was exciting. (The title of that lecture? You guessed it: “The purple pills help the orange tablets fall off.”)

Nostr has completely changed its use of social media. Amethyst is the first app to open in the morning.

JB: Are you worried that Jack Dorsey bankrolls developers and provides most of the funding for this space? A problem of centralization?

No, Jack understands the importance of what Nostr is doing. Over time, it may become large enough and there may be other ways to raise funds and monetize them.

But if you think about it, it’s making good use of Jack’s money.

Strike CEO Jack Mallers said his new role as CEO of Bitcoin treasury firm Twenty One Capital won’t distract him from heading Strike, revealing the platform processed over $6 billion in volume in 2024.

“This is not a shift in my commitment; it’s an extension of it,” Mallers said in an April 25 letter to Strike investors.

Every decision based on if it is “good for Bitcoin”

“If Bitcoin wins, humanity wins. Every business decision I make starts with one question: Is this good for Bitcoin? Twenty One exists because I believe it is good for Bitcoin and, therefore, good for the world,” Mallers said.

Mallers explained that Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, and Twenty One Capital have different goals. He said Strike focuses on making “Bitcoin accessible globally,” while Twenty One aims to increase “Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) and pioneer Bitcoin-native financial tools.”

“These are separate companies, but they share the same ethos: Bitcoin wins, we win,” he said.

It comes after Twenty One Capital announced its launch on April 23, with the backing of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald.

The firm is looking to challenge Michael Saylor’s Strategy to become the “superior vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.” It revealed its plans to launch with 42,000 Bitcoin (BTC).

Mallers shared key metrics for Strike publicly for the first time, revealing that in 2024, the firm posted over $6 billion in volume, recorded 600% year-on-year growth, maintained an 85% gross profit margin, and reported zero customer acquisition costs.

Mallers said that despite maintaining a team of 75 employees, the company expects to “generate 8-9 figures in net profit in 2025.”

Several crypto enthusiasts had taken to social media to ask how the logistics would work for Mallers, being the CEO of Strike and Twenty One Capital.

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Crypto commentator “Alex” asked in an April 25 X post, “What will be the fate of Strike? New incoming CEO? Or will he pull an Elon Musk?” Similarly, Domingo Guerra asked, “Who will be running Strike!?”

Meanwhile, several crypto industry participants have publicly speculated that Twenty One Capital may acquire Strike in the future. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said it is “probably safe to assume that this company will acquire strike.” 

Daniel Sempere Pico said, “How long before Twenty One acquires Strike?” However, neither Mallers or Strike has indicated any intention of doing so.

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