ZachXBT flags suspected $106M theft from EU entity's exchange accounts
On-chain investigator ZachXBT says an EU entity may have lost over $106M from exchange accounts on Nov 1, with funds swapped to ETH and routed onward.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT says an entity based in the European Union is suspected of losing more than $106 million from several centralized exchange accounts on November 1. He posted the alert on November 2 as a community warning. According to his report, the suspected attacker withdrew the money as USDC and USDT.
Wu Blockchain notes that the identity of the affected entity and the method of the theft have not been disclosed. It also says the reported losses have not been independently confirmed. BeInCrypto likewise reports that no victim or exchange has publicly confirmed the alleged theft.
How the funds are moving
ZachXBT says the actor spent the following 24 hours moving funds aggressively. They swapped USDC for ETH, sent assets to instant exchange services such as WellWallet and Kyrrex, converted funds to the privacy coin Monero (XMR) through Wagyu, and bridged across multiple chains. He published a list of eleven Ethereum-style addresses linked to the theft.
Lookonchain, citing ZachXBT, says the attacker used a wallet beginning 0x9eca to buy 27,553 ETH on-chain. It put the value at $62.97 million, at an average price of $2,286, and says the funds were then moved through multiple platforms.
BeInCrypto reviewed Ethereum transactions itself. It found roughly $80 million in USDC reaching 11 wallets over 11 hours. In five of those wallets, about $9.6 million was moved out again within three minutes. The outlet says the $106 million estimate includes USDT.
Why the swaps matter
BeInCrypto points out that Circle and Tether, the issuers of USDC and USDT, can freeze their tokens, while ETH has no comparable central issuer. That gives a possible reason for the quick conversion out of stablecoins, though the sources do not say what the attacker intended. Moving into XMR and across chains would also make the funds harder to follow.
What to watch
The main open questions are who the victim is and how the accounts were drained. Traders may want to see whether an affected exchange or entity confirms the loss, since the $106 million figure rests on ZachXBT's assessment and on-chain data. Further movement of the ETH, any freezes of stablecoins that remain in the listed addresses, and further tracing by ZachXBT and others are the next things to follow.
The sources report no market impact from the incident. Until a victim or exchange speaks publicly, the details here should be treated as preliminary.
Sources
- An EU entity is suspected of losing $106M+ from multiple centralized exchange accounts ZachXBT
- ZachXBT: EU entity suspected of losing over $106M in crypto theft Wu Blockchain
- ZachXBT Flags Suspected $106 Million-Plus Theft From EU Entity The Defiant
- More Than $106M Lost in Suspected EU Crypto Theft, ZachXBT Reports The Cryptonomist
- According to zachxbt , an EU entity is suspected of losing $106M+ from multiple centralized exchange accounts Lookonchain
- $106 Million Crypto Theft Hits EU Entity With Multiple Exchange Accounts BeInCrypto
Written with AI assistance from the sources above and checked against them. Not investment advice.