Mask Network founder Suji Yan suffered a major blow on his birthday after hackers stole nearly $4 million in digital assets from his personal holdings.
The theft, which unfolded over just 11 minutes, left Yan reeling and sparked a swift response from blockchain security experts.
None of the stolen funds belonged to Mask Network
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.
Among the stolen assets were 113 ETH, 923 WETH, 301 ezETH, 156 weETH, 90 pufET, 48.4K MASK, 50K USDT, and 15 swETH.
The total value was approximately $4 million at the time of theft.
According to Cyvers, whoever pulled off the heist didn’t waste time.
The stolen assets were quickly swapped into Ether (ETH). From there, the funds fanned out to six different addresses.
Meir Dolev, Cyvers’ co-founder and CTO, called it a “well-coordinated laundering attempt.”
He pointed to the hackers’ speed as evidence of growing sophistication in Web3 attacks. Dolev stressed the need for real-time monitoring to catch such moves early.
Yan confirmed the hack on X, sharing his shock. He noted the timing, his birthday, added a bitter twist.
At the time, he was at a private gathering with about a dozen friends. He recalled leaving his phone unattended briefly, like during a bathroom break.
Yan trusts his friends but can’t rule out foul play. He speculated that the hacker either nabbed his private key or executed an offline attack during that window.
The Mask Network founder moved fast to limit the damage. He tapped security experts Zachxbt and Slowmist to dig into the breach.
I turned 29 yrs old today, 6 hours ago. Around 3 hours ago – one of my public wallet I carried on my phone was hacked and 4m$+ assets was stolen. All the stolen tx seems manual and span 11+ mins. So either the private key was leaked same day as my birthday and hacker manual tsf…
Yan has, however, made it clear the losses were personal. None of the stolen assets came from Mask Network’s funds.
Notably, Yan’s ordeal underscores a harsh reality for crypto holders. Even prominent figures aren’t immune to hacks.
The stolen funds’ rapid conversion and dispersal highlight how fast threat actors operate today.
Dolev urged the Web3 community to adopt preemptive tools and rapid response strategies.
It is worth noting that there has been an increase in crypto hacks over the recent past, with the recent Bybit hack going down as the largest crypto hack in history.
Source : https://invezz.com/news/2025/02/27/mask-network-founder-suji-yan-loses-4m-in-crypto-hack-on-his-birthday/
