An elderly US citizen fell victim to a $330M Bitcoin theft, now the fifth largest crypto hack. Advanced social engineering tactics were used, leading to rapid laundering of the stolen assets through various exchanges and converting to Monero, complicating recovery efforts. Security experts suggest adopting stronger defenses to prevent such attacks in the future.
In a shocking incident that rocked the crypto community, an elderly American has lost a staggering $330 million in Bitcoin due to a sophisticated social engineering attack. This theft, which took place on April 28, 2025, is now marked as the fifth-largest hack in cryptocurrency history. Onchain investigator ZachXBT shared details about the case on April 30, revealing that the assailant managed to gain access to the victim’s wallet through cunning tactics.
The heist unfolded when ZachXBT detected a suspicious movement of 3,520 Bitcoin, a transfer linked to an alarming value of over $330 million. The thief wasted no time and quickly laundered the stolen funds through more than six instant exchanges, converting them into Monero (XMR), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. It appears the elderly victim had held onto over 3,000 BTC since 2017, untouched by any significant transactions prior to this incident, raising eyebrows about how the hacker tailored their approach.
Once the Bitcoin was stolen, the attacker executed a method known as “peel chains,” a popular technique that breaks down large amounts into smaller chunks to obscure their trail. Yehor Rudytsia, a researcher at Hacken, detailed how the malicious actor received $330 million in two transactions, swiftly dispersing the funds through numerous wallets. An intricate chain emerged, consisting of over 40 different wallets that made tracking the flow of stolen assets increasingly challenging.
Using Hacken’s Extractor tool, Rudytsia tracked approximately $284 million in Bitcoin funneled through these intricate networks, but only about $60 million remains after the laundering process twisted the funds through low-credibility exchanges. He noted that over 300 hacker wallets and more than 20 exchanges were linked to this heist, with major players like Binance caught in the web. Cointelegraph has sought comments from Binance but is still awaiting a response.
The complexity doesn’t end here. The rapid conversion of Bitcoin into Monero spiked XMR’s market price, giving it a sudden 50% jump, and making funds nearly impossible to trace due to Monero’s superior privacy features. Hakan Unal, a senior security operations lead at Cyvers Alerts, cautioned that tracing such funds becomes a daunting task at this stage. He suspects that the attacker had likely set up multiple accounts beforehand, suggesting that this operation was not just random but rather meticulously planned.
Though a minority of the stolen Bitcoin was funneled into Ethereum platforms, further muddling the investigative efforts, authorities are now alerted, hoping to freeze the stolen assets before they disappear entirely. Interestingly, ZachXBT has been careful not to jump to conclusions regarding potential connections to North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group, stating the laundering methods differ enough not to implicate any known hackers.
While the perpetrators remain elusive, security experts like Unal are urging crypto holders to bolster their defenses. He recommends adopting multisignature wallets to avoid single points of failure, rotating private keys regularly, and relying on secure hardware solutions to protect large cryptocurrency holdings.
In summary, this unfortunate incident emphasizes the vulnerability of even seasoned cryptocurrency holders to sophisticated social engineering tactics. With over $330 million now vanished, the implications for security in the crypto sphere are profound. It’s clear that as the digital landscape evolves, so too must the strategies for protecting assets amidst a backdrop of increasingly audacious cybercriminals.
Original Source: cointelegraph.com