Hacker's Birthday Gift: $4M Crypto Heist in 11 Minutes

Mask Network founder Suji Yan suffered a significant loss on his 29th birthday when hackers stole nearly $4 million in digital assets from his personal holdings. The theft, which occurred over just 11 minutes, left Yan reeling and sparked a swift response from blockchain security experts.

The incident came to light on February 27, 2025, after blockchain security firm Cyvers flagged suspicious transactions tied to Yan’s accounts. Their AI-powered system revealed that a single address had received a haul of cryptocurrencies, including 113 ETH, 923 WETH, 301 ezETH, 156 weETH, 90 pufET, 48.4K MASK, 50K USDT, and 15 swETH, with a total value of approximately $4 million at the time of theft.

According to Cyvers, the hackers didn’t waste time. The stolen assets were quickly swapped into Ether (ETH) and then dispersed to six different addresses. Meir Dolev, Cyvers’ co-founder and CTO, described it as a “well-coordinated laundering attempt,” highlighting the growing sophistication of Web3 attacks and the need for real-time monitoring.

Yan confirmed the hack on X, sharing his shock and noting the bitter twist of the incident occurring on his birthday. He recalled leaving his phone unattended briefly during a private gathering with friends and speculated that the hacker either nabbed his private key or executed an offline attack during that window.

The Mask Network founder moved swiftly to limit the damage, enlisting the help of security experts Zachxbt and Slowmist to investigate the breach. Yan made it clear that the losses were personal and did not affect Mask Network’s funds. However, the incident underscores a harsh reality for crypto holders: even prominent figures are not immune to hacks.

The rapid conversion and dispersal of the stolen funds highlight the speed at which threat actors operate today. Dolev urged the Web3 community to adopt preemptive tools and rapid response strategies to better protect against such attacks. This incident follows a recent trend of increasing crypto hacks, with the Bybit hack being the largest in history.