Brazilian YouTuber Lost around $60K in Crypto After Revealing Private Keys in Live Stream

A YouTuber, Ivan Bianco, who runs the “Fraternidade Crypto” channel in Brazil and focuses on blockchain gaming, has reportedly lost almost $60,000 in cryptocurrency and NFTs.

This loss occurred when he accidentally revealed his wallets’ seed phrases during a live broadcast. Bianco’s channel has over 34,000 subscribers and has gained over 2.2 million views since 2017.

On August 30, 2023, during a livestream, Bianco opened a document that contained his seed phrases. This mistake allowed unidentified individuals to gain access to his crypto wallets and take his assets. Bianco tried to create a new wallet, but he discovered that two of his wallets had already been emptied within minutes.

In a follow-up livestream, an emotional Bianco explained the situation to his viewers. He shared that approximately 86,600 MATIC tokens, valued at around $50,800 at the time, were stolen from his Polygon wallet. Additionally, 3.35 ETH (worth about $5,750) remained trapped in another individual’s Arbitrum wallet. Smaller amounts of various cryptocurrencies were also reportedly taken by other users.

Bianco stated that he lost approximately $60,000 in tokens and NFTs. He reported the theft to the police but expressed doubts about their ability to resolve the situation quickly.

Interestingly, someone claiming responsibility for the theft contacted Bianco through Discord. During the conversation, the individual expressed regret and returned most of the stolen MATIC tokens, which amounted to about $50,000. Although some of Bianco’s followers were skeptical, he dismissed their doubts.

Bianco identified the thief but chose not to reveal their name since most of the stolen funds were returned. He is currently working to track down the others who took smaller amounts. Bianco hopes that this incident will serve as a warning to others to be more cautious with their digital assets.