$133 Million Crypto Attack on French Bank: Three Major Exchanges Step In! Here Are the Details

French banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has confirmed an attack that led to fraudulent transactions in some cryptocurrency accounts. The bank stated that the incident is under control and that customers will not suffer any financial losses.

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT suggested that the total loss resulting from the attack could exceed $133 million. Initially, the researcher identified $106 million in transactions, but later increased his estimate by identifying an additional $27 million in withdrawals from centralized crypto exchanges. He argued that the loss could be even higher if over-the-counter transactions were included.

Although Crédit Mutuel Arkéa confirmed the attack, it did not disclose the amount stolen or whether the assets were initially fiat or cryptocurrency. The bank stated that it has temporarily suspended some transactions to prevent further losses and has notified the relevant authorities.

Blockchain analytics company Bitquery tracked a total of 108.8 million USDC withdrawals from accounts on Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX between November 1st and 2nd. The funds were distributed across hundreds of wallets, with a significant portion converted to Ether, which cannot be frozen by a centralized issuer.

Crypto.com announced that it prevented funds linked to the attack from being transferred through its platform. OKX also reported that it detected unusual activity in a corporate client account, froze the account, and contacted the client. Both platforms stated that other user accounts were not affected. Kraken did not comment at the time the news was published.

How the attacker gained access to the stock market accounts has not yet been determined. ZachXBT stated that, based on the manner in which the funds were moved, they are highly confident that the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group is not responsible. This assessment is an analysis by the researcher, not the result of an official investigation.

*This is not investment advice.