Crypto Sleuth ZachXBT Uncovers Massive $238M Bitcoin Theft

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has uncovered a theft of 4,064 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $238 million. The investigation reveals a few complex transactions, with the stolen funds being rapidly distributed across multiple platforms.

Seven hours ago a suspicious transfer was made from a potential victim for 4064 BTC ($238M)

Transaction hash
4b277ba298830ea538086114803b9487558bb093b5083e383e94db687fbe9090

Funds were quickly transferred to ThorChain, eXch, Kucoin, ChangeNow, Railgun, Avalanche Bridge.

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) August 19, 2024

Stolen Bitcoin was moved through various medium

ZachXBT reported that the stolen Bitcoin was transferred to various destinations, including ThorChain, eXch, Avalanche Bridge, ChangeNow, KuCoin, and Railgun. This diversification strategy suggests a sophisticated attempt to obfuscate the trail of the stolen assets.

What makes this case particularly intriguing is the origin of the funds. ZachXBT identified two victim addresses, both with links to Genesis Trading.

One address, holding 642.376 BTC (approximately $37.73 million), received funds from Genesis Trading’s bankruptcy distributions just two weeks prior to the theft.

The other, containing 2,173 BTC (worth about $127 million), had received its funds from Genesis Trading two years ago.

This connection to Genesis Trading, a major player in the crypto lending space that filed for bankruptcy in January 2024, adds another layer of complexity to the case.

There has been a visible rise in the number of crypto hacks and scams lately. The crypto community on X has also been questioning ZachXBT about whether Lazarus is behind this theft. However, the on-chain sleuth replied that it was likely not Lazarus as the behavior was a bit different.

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