Mysterious $106 Million Crypto Loss in Europe: Converted to Monero!

An unnamed entity operating in the European Union has allegedly lost over $106 million in assets from accounts on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Initial information regarding the potential attack was shared by blockchain researcher ZachXBT.

However, ZachXBT did not disclose the victim’s identity, the exchanges affected, or how the attacker accessed the accounts.

The suspected attacker allegedly initially withdrew assets in $USDC and $USDT from exchange accounts. Some of the funds were then converted to Ether. Assets were processed through fast exchange services like WellWallet and Kyrrez, while others were converted to the privacy-focused Monero via Wagyu.

$USDC and $USDT are issued by centralized companies, allowing the issuers to freeze specific addresses. Ethereum and Monero, however, do not have a centralized issuer that can unilaterally halt transactions. Monero’s focus on concealing transaction amounts and sender/receiver information can also make tracking stolen funds more difficult.

ZachXBT has released 11 wallet addresses that it claims are linked to the incident. However, the reported loss has not been publicly confirmed by the affected organization or the exchanges involved. Therefore, the $106 million figure should currently be considered a research estimate based on on-chain transactions.

The investigator said he was highly confident the attack was not carried out by the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group, citing differences in money laundering methods. However, he did not share an assessment regarding the identity of the actual attacker. If the incident is confirmed, how institutional accounts on different exchanges were simultaneously compromised will be one of the key aspects of the investigation.

*This is not investment advice.