EU entity loses over $106m from exchange accounts in suspected hack
On-chain investigator ZachXBT said the thief drained USDC and USDT before laundering the funds through instant exchanges and privacy coin Monero.
Key takeaways
- 1An EU entity lost over $106m from centralised exchange accounts on 1 November.
- 2Attacker withdrew funds in USDC and USDT before swapping USDC for ether.
- 3ZachXBT identified 11 wallet addresses tied to the suspected breach.
- 4Stolen assets were laundered via instant exchanges like WellWallet and converted to Monero via Wagyu.
An unnamed entity based in the European Union lost more than $106 million from multiple centralised exchange accounts on 1 November, according to findings published on Monday by independent on-chain investigator ZachXBT on his Telegram channel Investigations by ZachXBT. Wu Blockchain also reported the findings.
The perpetrator drained the funds in stablecoins USDC and Tether's USDT before initiating a complex series of transfers across multiple blockchains. Over the subsequent 24 hours, the attacker aggressively swapped USDC for ether while funnelling assets through non-custodial instant exchanges, including WellWallet and Kyrrex.
To conceal the origin of the stolen funds, the thief converted portions of the crypto into the privacy-focused token Monero using the Wagyu protocol. The attacker also transferred assets across several cross-chain bridges. ZachXBT published 11 specific wallet addresses tied to the theft, allowing security teams and platforms to track the movement of the funds.
Neither the identity of the targeted European organisation nor the breach vector used to compromise the centralised exchange accounts has been made public. Centralised crypto exchanges enforce individual account access controls, making simultaneous compromises across multiple platforms unusual unless API keys or employee credentials are breached.
The use of instant exchanges and privacy coins like Monero remains a standard tactic among crypto thieves attempting to break the on-chain paper trail before attempting fiat cash-outs. Monero traded at $608.65 on Monday, while ether traded at $2,283.59, according to YourKhabri data. Exchanges and analytics firms are monitoring the flagged addresses to intercept traceable assets.
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Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.