FBI subpoenas Brink co-founder for CoreDev Atlanta attendee data

Mike Schmidt, co-founder of Brink It was recently revealed that he had received a subpoena Last year, the FBI asked him to turn over personal information from attendees of the CoreDev Atlanta event in October 2022. The subpoena is part of an ongoing investigation into the theft of cryptocurrency assets from Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr.

The guy who wanted to tell you how to use Bitcoin couldn’t even protect his own Bitcoin, and everyone at the conference he attended was doxxed by the FBI. 😱

Well done, Luke! 👍 pic.twitter.com/QQGdJ7AnaT

— Mike in Space (@mikeinspace) April 10, 2024

Due to a confidentiality order, Schmidt cannot share details about the subpoena until the order expires. He explained in a social media post that the FBI initially requested a large amount of information, but after some resistance, agents agreed to provide a more limited subset of the data.

Schmidt provided the FBI with the full names, GitHub usernames and email addresses of event attendees. He emphasized that he had no further details about the investigation or whether the subpoena was for a specific suspect or part of a general information-gathering process.

Interestingly, Schmidt pointed out the irony of the situation, saying: “The guy who wants to tell you how to use Bitcoin can’t even protect his own Bitcoin, so everyone in the meeting he’s at Doxxed by the FBI.”

Bitcoin holds keys leaked

The theft involves Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr, who revealed in 2023 that he lost nearly all of his Bitcoin holdings after his Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) key was leaked on December 31, 2022 . The hackers managed to steal more than 200 BTC, which would be worth more than $14.2 million at today’s Bitcoin price of $71,000.

Cryptocurrency theft remains rampant because the decentralized and permissionless nature of blockchain means that — unlike bank wire transfers — there is little way to reverse a transaction once it occurs. Therefore, after assets are transferred due to hackers or scams, victims often have no way to recover them.

Major cryptocurrency figures and companies are often successfully targeted, with two platforms linked to TRON (TRX) founder Justin Sun being attacked last year. Although there are far fewer resources dedicated to attacking individuals (other than those who are particularly wealthy or exposed), it is still important to learn how to recognize and avoid cryptocurrency scams and hacks.