The Cost of Private Key Leakage: A True Encounter of a Co-founder of a Leading Mining Pool

[Block Rhythm] Recently, a co-founder of a well-known mining pool shared a thought-provoking experience on social media. After discovering that his account might have fallen victim to phishing, resulting in the loss of 50 million USDT, he decided to conduct a bold security verification experiment.

To confirm whether the private key was truly compromised, he transferred 500 bitcoins to a suspected stolen address. The result shocked everyone— the hackers “only” took away 490 bitcoins, leaving him with a hard-earned 10.

Behind this seemingly humorous narrative lies the actual revelation of the vulnerability of private key security in the current blockchain ecosystem. A single misstep could result in the loss of tens of millions in assets. Ironically, the hackers' selective extraction behavior indicates that their actions are driven by clear intentions—they are precisely calculating and controlling risks.

This case serves as a reminder to all holders: protecting private keys is not just a technical issue, but a matter of survival. Regardless of the scale of assets, a single phishing attack or exposure of private keys can cause years of accumulation to vanish in an instant. For high-net-worth users, security measures such as cold wallet storage, multi-signature wallets, and hardware wallets are no longer optional, but essential.