Solana — the major blockchain known for its fast and cheap transactions — is the target of a major hack. The hackers compromised 9,000+ wallets with an estimated $4M+ in crypto drained (majoritySOL

andUSDC

. The hack impacted:

• Solana-based wallets, including Phantom, Slope and Trust Wallet — and mainly mobile users.
• Hot wallets, which are always connected to the internet.

An investigation by Solana isolated the incident to one suspect: Slope Finance. Any users that interacted with Slope’s mobile wallet applications — even using other wallet providers could be exposed. Updates can be found via Solana Status

What’s the safest way to store your crypto?

As we’ve seen with Celsius and other bankrupt crypto platforms — it’s not on centralized platforms. Cold wallets — which aren’t connected to the internet — may be your best bet.

• These are often in the form of physical hard drives or USB-like devices, which are seen as the safest way to store your crypto.
• Just be careful — make sure you don’t lose your cold wallet. It’s near impossible to recover your crypto if you do.

Just ask the person who lost 7,500 bitcoins (~$172M) stored on a hard drive — who’s now using x-ray devices to search through junk yards.

While cold wallets aren’t convenient as hot wallets, long-term holders should consider moving their crypto to cold wallets. Safety first.