CoinDesk
A European Union entity may have lost more than $106 million from accounts at multiple cryptocurrency exchanges on Sunday, blockchain investigator ZachXBT said. The reported loss has not been independently confirmed, and neither the victim nor the exchanges involved have been identified. ZachXBT published 11 wallet addresses linked to the suspected theft.
Why it matters
The attacker reportedly withdrew USDC and USDT, then moved funds through several cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Over the following 24 hours, the funds were exchanged for Ether and routed through instant exchanges and Monero. Monero obscures transaction details, making the trail harder to follow. Unlike USDC and USDT, which their issuers can freeze, Ether and Monero have no central issuer able to freeze them.
ZachXBT said he was highly confident the incident was not the work of North Korea’s Lazarus Group, citing multiple laundering indicators. The attacker, access method and victim remain unidentified, and no affected exchange or EU entity has publicly confirmed the suspected theft.
Market impact
The reported loss adds to a run of crypto thefts that the seed says followed a separate attack involving Binance, which the FBI attributed to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group, associated with Lazarus. BTCPay was also attacked, and Mercado Bitcoin apparently suffered a theft worth about $40 million.
For exchange customers, the case highlights the risks of account compromises and the difficulty of tracing funds once they move across assets and services. The reported $106 million loss remains an allegation, not a confirmed exchange disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
-
How much was reportedly stolen from the EU entity?
ZachXBT said the unidentified entity may have lost more than $106 million. The reported loss has not been independently confirmed.
-
Which cryptocurrencies were reportedly involved in the fund movements?
The suspected attacker reportedly withdrew USDC and USDT, then moved funds through several cryptocurrencies, including Ether and Monero.
-
Why does Monero make the suspected theft harder to trace?
Monero obscures transaction details, making the movement of funds harder to follow.
-
Did ZachXBT identify the victim or the affected exchanges?
No. ZachXBT published 11 linked wallet addresses, but the victim and affected exchanges remain unidentified.
-
Did ZachXBT attribute the suspected theft to Lazarus Group?
No. ZachXBT said he was highly confident Lazarus Group was not responsible, citing multiple laundering indicators.
TheBlock
WatcherGuru
CoinTelegraph
WuBlockchain
CryptoSlate
Altcoin Daily