Streamer’s $31K Solana Cancer Fund Wiped Out After Downloading Single Game
Gaming streamer loses entire cancer treatment fund in crypto heist—all from one malicious download.
THE SECURITY BREACH
A single game installation drained $31,000 worth of Solana tokens intended for medical expenses. The attack unfolded in minutes—digital thieves bypassing security protocols while the streamer broadcasted gameplay.
CRYPTO'S DARK REALITY
Decentralized finance cuts both ways—no chargebacks, no safety nets. The very features that make crypto revolutionary also make it ruthless when security fails. Traditional finance would've frozen the transaction, but blockchain waits for nobody.
SECURITY PARADOX
Hardware wallets protect assets until users bypass them for convenience. The streamer's setup prioritized accessibility over protection—a common tradeoff that turns catastrophic when malware strikes.
Another reminder that in crypto, you're your own bank—and sometimes your own weakest link. Wall Street bankers would probably call this 'market education' while sipping martinis.
Crypto fights back
After hearing about the hack, members of the crypto and broader online security community rallied behind Plavnieks. The streamer’s CANCER token pumped 3,000% to a $2.5 million market cap, generating substantially more creator rewards, and sleuths started to track down the hacker.
Well-known pseudonymous crypto investigator ZachXBT teamed up with a group of other researchers to diagnose how the hack happened, who was behind it, and how to resolve the issue.
ZachXBT said that the malicious Block Blasters game has led to more than $150,000 worth of crypto being stolen, and called out Valve for allowing the game on the Steam storefront. Malware expert vx-underground told Decrypt that 907 devices were infected by the game, although he speculates some are duplicates and estimates there to be approximately 400 victims.
You clowns allow malware on your platform that has resulted in $150K+ stolen from victims (fake game has been available to download for more than a month) pic.twitter.com/886rO1PbDP
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 21, 2025
“I think with such a heinous crime as stealing from society's most vulnerable, we can set aside differences and use our skills for the greater good,” a pseudonymous security researcher known as 1989 told Decrypt. “There are currently many security researchers and people all over X with skills in OSINT teaming together to be able to bring [the hackers] to justice.”
He claims to be in contact with the attackers, alongside ZachXBT, as they attempt to “convince” them to return the money not only to Plavnieks but all victims.
However, according to Telegram screenshots shared in a technical report, the attacker appears unsympathetic, claiming that Plavnieks will make that money back. The attackers also claimed they’d return the stolen funds, but the report said they had not.
“There appears to have been a group of them working together to target a wide variety of cryptocurrency holders/investors,” 1989 told Decrypt. “They haven't outright admitted, but there's mountains of evidence; it is just a case of tying it all together and having appropriate law enforcement use their resources to bring them in.”
One alleged member of the group was supposedly identified via social media, but has denied involvement.
Plavnieks said he has reported the incident to the police, switched out the wallet that creator rewards go to, and is changing his computer’s SSD just in case. Crypto influencer Alex Becker donated $32,500 to cover the losses, with others also offering financial support.
“Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Me, my brothers, and my mom are completely left without words on all the support we have received [over the] past 24 hours after the hack happened,” Plavnieks wrote on X early Monday. “Words will never express how thankful me and my family are. I hope we can express it in some way or another to you all soon!”
“I will be back LIVE today,” he added.
