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Cypher Developer Confesses Stealing User Funds for Gambling, Awaits Punishment

Cypher Developer Confesses Market News
  • Cypher developer Hoak confessed to losing user funds worth $300K over gambling on his X account.
  • The founder approached law enforcement to take action against Hoak.

A core developer of solana based DEX platform Cypher confessed to stealing user funds amounting to $300K on his X account. The core contributor known as Hoak released a public statement accepting the allegations imposed on him and apologised for it. 

The loss of funds came to contributors’ notice after a user reported being unable to withdraw funds on Discord. The DEX platform’s founder, Barrett, had stated about the theft the previous day. He presented a document bearing evidence of the asset movements. 

Users’ Funds Lost to Hoak’s Gambling Addiction 

On May 14, pseudonymous developer Hoak, made an elaborate confession and apology on Twitter. He attributed the stealing of $300Kworth of assets to poor mental health and a ‘snowballed’ gambling addiction that crippled him. The developer mentioned multiple names who were impacted and apologised for his actions. 

In his public statement Hoak wrote: 

“To address the elephant in the room, the allegations are true, I took the funds and gambled them away. I didn’t run away with it, nor did anyone else.” 

The statement also included the mention of his previous mistakes and an apology to specific persons who would be unnecessarily affected because of his actions. Hoak ended his apology with an acceptance of consequences. He agreed that his actions are neither reversible nor can go unpunished. 

Barrett’s Action Against Hoak 

Previously on May 13, Cypher founder and lead contributor Barrett reported the loss of funds, on his X account. He stated that the theft had been going on for months through a total of 36 withdrawals. Furthermore, Barrett has approached law enforcement with the withdrawal data, said the tweet. 

Moreover, Hoak’s public statement also mentioned Barrett, admitting him to be the most affected through the event. The founder was saddened by the involvement of a core contributor who had stayed on after the 2023 exploit.
In August 2023, Cypher incurred a loss of over $1M when an unknown wallet exploited the decentralised exchange, stealing 38,530 Solana and USD coins worth $123,184.

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