ZachXBT uncovers $282M BTC and LTC theft laundered through Monero

Key Takeaways

• A victim lost more than $282 million in Bitcoin and Litecoin in a hardware wallet social engineering attack.
• The stolen funds were laundered via Monero, which reached a new all time high near $800 during the week, a few days after the incident.

A victim lost more than $282 million in Bitcoin and Litecoin on January 10 due to a hardware wallet social engineering scam, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT via his official Telegram channel.

The attacker gained control of the victim’s wallet and began rapidly moving the stolen assets across multiple networks. The compromised addresses held approximately 2.05 million Litecoin and 1,459 Bitcoin at the time of the theft.

Shortly after the funds were moved, the attacker began converting large portions of the stolen Bitcoin and Litecoin into Monero using multiple instant exchanges. The sudden surge in conversion activity caused Monero’s price to spike sharply, according to ZachXBT.

Since the incident, Monero rose to a new all-time high near $800 earlier in the week, marking a 74% increase. At press time, Monero had pulled back to around $670, but remained up roughly 46% since the incident.

In parallel, portions of the stolen Bitcoin were bridged across multiple networks using THORChain, with funds routed into Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.

Source