According to Cyvers report, Mask Network founder Suji Yan’s account has been hacked. A suspicious address received nearly $4 million in digital assets before the funds were immediately swapped to ETH and distributed across six different addresses.

Mask Network’s native token, MASK, has been nearly 50% down in the past three months, and this incident could further impact its price. 

Hackers Target Mask Network Founder

The breach involved a complex mix of tokens. The suspicious address collected 113 ETH, 923 WETH, 301 ezETH, 156 weETH, 90 pufET, 48,400 MASK, 50,000 USDT, and 15 swETH. 

Reports from Web3 security firm Cyvers reflect that the hack unfolded rapidly. Following the initial acquisition of nearly $4 million worth of cryptocurrency, the hackers converted the stolen assets to ETH. 

The ETH was then dispersed evenly to six separate addresses, a maneuver likely intended to obscure the money trail and complicate efforts to trace the funds.

“Our system has identified a suspicious $4 million transfer linked to an address associated with Suji Ya, founder of Mask Network. The stolen assets were swiftly converted to ETH and dispersed across multiple addresses, indicating a well-coordinated laundering attempt. This incident underscores the increasing sophistication of threat actors in the Web3 space and highlights the urgent need for real-time transaction monitoring, preemptive prevention, and rapid incident response,” Meir Dolev, Co-founder & CTO at Cyvers told BeInCrypto. 

Mask Network, which bridges mainstream social media with blockchain technology, has yet to release an official statement confirming the hack. 

However, the founder, Suji Yan, has confirmed the hack on his social media. According to him, the hack is likely to have occurred at his birthday party yesterday. Yan alluded to the idea of an offline attack, as he was away from his phone for a few moments during the party.

Overall, Yan confirmed that the funds were transferred manually from his wallet. More details are yet to be revealed.

“6 hours ago, I turned 29. About 3 hours ago, $4 million was stolen from one of my public wallets. All of the stolen transactions appear to have been manually transferred and lasted for more than 11 minutes. So, either my private keys were compromised on my birthday and the hacker manually moved the funds, or this could have been an offline attack. I was at a private party with a dozen friends and my phone was away from me for a few minutes, like when I went to the bathroom. I trusted my friends, but this situation is a nightmare for anyone,” Yan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Crypto hacks and scams have massively increased in the first two months of 2025. Last week, North Korea’s Lazarus Group carried out the biggest hack in crypto history, the Bybit attack.

At the same time, several high-profile social media accounts are almost regularly being hacked to promote fake meme coins. The latest incident is part of this growing trend that has been plaguing the industry. 

Bybit has secured an in-principle approval (IPA) from the United Arab Emirates’ Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) to establish itself as a Virtual Asset Platform Operator in the region.

The development marks a major step toward Bybit obtaining a full operational license.

Bybit to Establish Virtual Asset Platform in the UAE

This authorization moves Bybit closer to offering a broad range of digital asset services to retail and institutional clients in the UAE. It follows its existing regulatory approvals in the Middle East, further solidifying its commitment to compliance in key financial hubs.

Bybit’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Zhou, expressed optimism regarding the IPA and demonstrated optimism for full operational approval from the SCA in the statement. 

“We are honored to have received the IPA from SCA. This approval marks a crucial step in our journey to providing secure and transparent crypto trading solutions,” Zhou shared in the announcement.

Meanwhile, this development reflects the UAE’s ongoing efforts to position itself as a crypto and blockchain innovation leader. Bybit’s regulatory progress aligns with the UAE’s forward-thinking stance on digital assets, ensuring a compliant and secure retail and institutional investors trading environment.

Bybit’s expansion in the UAE follows a similar development in India earlier this month. The exchange successfully registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This allowed it to resume full operations after a temporary suspension due to compliance issues.

“Big News! Bybit is officially registered with the FIU-IND and making strides in the Indian market! We’re thrilled to expand our presence in India, and this registration marks a huge milestone,” the announcement read.

Reportedly, Bybit Exchange paid a $1.06 million fine for previously operating without proper registration. It has since aligned with Indian regulatory standards.

Notably, the company confirmed that all services for existing users in India will be restored as of February 25. Further, the onboarding of new users will resume gradually.

Despite its regulatory progress in the UAE and India, Bybit faces scrutiny in Japan. In February, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) urged major app stores to delist Bybit and other unregistered crypto exchanges.

The FSA cited concerns over unlicensed operations and potential risks to investors, reinforcing Japan’s stringent approach to crypto regulation.

Beyond regulatory developments, Bybit remains in the headlines after a significant security breach. As beInCrypto reported, over $1.4 billion was withdrawn from its platform. Investigations suggest North Korea’s Lazarus Group was responsible for the attack, further intensifying concerns about security vulnerabilities in centralized exchanges (CEXs).

Despite the breach, Bybit reassured users that all funds remained secure and fully backed. The exchange launched a crisis management strategy, offering a $140 million bounty to track down exploiters and recover stolen assets. However, subsequent reports indicate that Safe Wallets’ system was the weak link, not Bybit’s internal system.

The incident highlights the importance of understanding the risks of crypto wallet security, especially for firms handling large amounts of customer funds.

The United States has extradited Aleksei Andriunin, the 26-year-old CEO and founder of Gotbit, a crypto market-making firm, from Portugal. 

A Russian national, Andriunin, now faces serious charges, including wire fraud, market manipulation, and conspiracy. A federal grand jury in Boston indicted him.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts confirmed his extradition on February 26. This marked a significant development in a multinational crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud.

“It is alleged that between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit provided market manipulation services to create artificial trading volume for multiple cryptocurrency companies, including companies located in the United States,” the press release read.

Court filings reveal that Andriunin openly acknowledged in a 2019 interview that he had engineered a code to execute “wash trades.” Wash trading is a practice where a trader buys and sells the same asset or security in a short period, creating a false appearance of high trading volume and liquidity.

“Andriunin allegedly kept records of Gotbit’s market manipulation, including spreadsheets that compared “Created Volume” from wash trades with naturally occurring “Market Volume,” the indictment statement noted.

Prosecutors allege this deceptive practice was a cornerstone of Gotbit’s strategy to attract clients. The clients paid steep fees for what they believed was legitimate market support.

Further allegations suggest that Andriunin redirected millions of dollars in illicit proceeds from Gotbit to his personal account on the crypto exchange Binance.

Meanwhile, this case is part of a larger international operation to combat crypto fraud. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led it under the name “Operation Token Mirrors.” As part of the investigation, FBI agents created a fake token named NexFundAI to trap manipulators.

The US intelligence service seized more than $25 million in cryptocurrency assets and shut down several trading bots. These bots were associated with around 60 tokens used to manipulate trading volumes and deceive investors.

Legal actions commenced with an indictment unsealed on October 9, 2024. The indictment charged 18 individuals and entities, with Gotbit and its two directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, among those named.

Additionally, a superseding indictment on October 31, 2024, provided further details about Andriunin’s role. The indictment accused him of masterminding the conspiracy.

If found guilty, Andriunin could be sentenced to up to 20 years for wire fraud. He could also receive an additional five years for conspiracy to manipulate the market and commit wire fraud.

Each charge also carries potential fines of up to $250,000 or double the financial damage caused, along with supervised release, restitution, and asset forfeiture.