Pink Drainer Retires after $85M Heist

Pink Drainer, the infamous crypto-wallet draining kit, announced its retirement through a message on Telegram. The service, known for aiding in the theft of over $85 million in crypto assets, declared that it had accomplished its goal and would begin dismantling its operations. The announcement read, “After this message’s publication, we will begin winding down all of our infrastructure. All stored information will be wiped and securely destroyed.” When approached by , the developer behind the service, known as ‘Pink’, declined to comment further, simply stating, “I do not wish to comment. Bye.” Subsequently, the entire Telegram chat history for the service was deleted.

Crypto investigator ZachXBT shared a screenshot of the final message from the Pink Drainer Telegram channel, confirming the shutdown of the service after its involvement in the theft of more than $75 million. This revelation came as a relief to some in the cryptocurrency community, while others remained wary of remaining threats.

On top of this, security watchdog PeckShieldAlert also reported on the dismantling of Pink Drainer, notifying the community that the addresses associated with Pink Drainer had staked up to 18.1 million DAI into Spark, which represents about 1.35% of the total sDAI tokens. This substantial sum highlighted the significant reach and impact Pink Drainer had within the crypto ecosystem.

Data from Dune Analytics further corroborated the amount stolen, reporting that over $85 million had been drained from over 21,100 victims since July 2023. In the wake of the announcement, the Pink Drainer Telegram channel underwent a rebranding, renaming itself to “Bonadifier.” The new channel featured an image of Bonad, described as a drainer with a mental disability, along with the provocative message, “never forget what he took from you.”

Throughout its notorious run, Pink Drainer’s toolkit was responsible for stealing $53 million from over 9,000 participants in 2023 alone. The security researcher behind Pink Drainer defended his creation by stating, “I don’t phish, I just code.” This defense did little to appease the numerous victims who suffered losses due to the draining service.

The announcement of Pink Drainer’s shutdown follows a worrying trend in the crypto-draining space involving high-profile drainers. For instance, in November 2023, Inferno Drainer ceased operations after facilitating the theft of $70 million. Prior to this, in March 2023, Monkey Drainer shut down after being linked to the theft of $13 million. The frequent closures of such services may provide short-lived relief for crypto users, but the overarching threat remains due to the existence of other similar services.

One such example is Angel Drainer, which remains active and poses a continued threat. In February, Angel Drainer executed a series of attacks that resulted in the theft of over $400,000 from 128 crypto wallets by targeting users with malicious Safe Vault contacts.

As one service shuts down, another rises to take its place, keeping the crypto community on high alert. For those affected by these drainers, the reprieve from individual service closures is minimal comfort when faced with the persistent and evolving threat of new and existing crypto-draining entities. The constant vigilance required highlights the need for ongoing education and security measures to combat these sophisticated cybercriminal tactics.