Cryptoupdated 1h ago3 min read
ZachXBT Says EU Entity Crypto Hack Losses Rise From $106 Million To $133 Million
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EU entity reportedly lost over $106 million from multiple centralized exchanges on Nov. 1. ZachXBT later raised estimated losses to $133 million after identifying $27 million more.
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Estimate Climbs to $133M
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT said an unidentified European Union entity suffered a crypto hack with estimated losses rising from $106 million to more than $133 million after he identified another $27 million in withdrawals from centralized exchanges. ZachXBT wrote on his Telegram channel, "An EU entity is suspected of losing $106M+ from multiple centralized exchange accounts yesterday (Nov 1)," and he later said, "My working theory is a large financial institution in Western Europe was exploited and it’s currently being covered up," as the estimate increased. Bitquery said about $62.98 million worth of stablecoins was converted into 27,553 Ether in about four hours, and Cointelegraph reported that Bitquery found $30.5 million had moved out of the tracked addresses.
Cointelegraph also said only $3.74 million remained in USDC that issuer Circle could potentially freeze, while ZachXBT said the lack of a proper incident disclosure allowed more than $30 million to be laundered. ZachXBT said he was highly confident the attacker was not the Lazarus Group, and he described laundering patterns that differed from those typically used by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
How Funds Were Moved
ZachXBT said the suspected attacker withdrew funds as USDC and USDT before swapping USDC for Ethereum and sending funds through instant exchange services including WellWallet and Kyrrex. ZachXBT said the attacker converted some funds into Monero via Wagyu and bridged assets across multiple blockchain networks, a route he said made tracing transactions more difficult and reduced the chances of a rapid freeze of the stablecoins. Bitquery reported that $62.98 million in stablecoins was converted into 27,553 Ether in about four hours, and Bitquery also found about $30.5 million had left the hacker's wallet.
Cointelegraph said Bitquery reported that the suspected stolen funds were withdrawn from accounts at Kraken, Crypto.com and OKX, and it said some withdrawals occurred after ZachXBT first flagged the suspected crypto theft. ZachXBT said the attacker was swapping funds into ETH and Monero through instant exchanges and cross-chain bridges, and he added that the laundering patterns did not match those typically used by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Responses and What’s at Risk
Crypto.com told Cointelegraph that it had taken steps to prevent funds associated with the incident from moving through its platform, saying, "We are aware of this report and have taken appropriate action to block any funds associated with this third-party incident from moving through Crypto.com," and it added, "Our platform remains fully operational, and all user funds are secure and accessible." OKX acknowledged Cointelegraph’s request for comment and said it was looking into the matter, while Kraken had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. ZachXBT said the lack of a proper incident disclosure allowed more than $30 million to be laundered and claimed EU law enforcement could otherwise have frozen the funds.
Cointelegraph said the victim’s identity and allegations of a cover-up remain unverified, and it said the victim’s identity and allegations of a cover-up remain unverified. The Coinspot.io account of the same episode said the withdrawal involved USDC and USDT totaling more than $106 million from the addresses of an unidentified European company, and it said the incident occurred on November 1.