ZachXBT identifies French bank as alleged victim of $133M crypto theft
Onchain investigator ZachXBT has identified French banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa as the alleged victim of a crypto theft exceeding $133 million, with potential losses even higher.
The pseudonymous crypto sleuth revealed that the institution, which he described as having $235 billion in assets, was allegedly exploited over multiple days. He also suggested that additional losses may have occurred through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions not included in earlier estimates.
I suspect the amount stolen is larger when accounting for OTC activity.
Growing Losses
The disclosure follows ZachXBT's initial report on Monday, when he identified over $106 million in suspicious withdrawals from centralized exchanges. On Tuesday, he raised the estimated losses to over $133 million after discovering another $27 million in withdrawals, some occurring after his initial warning.
Exchange Response
Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery traced withdrawals from accounts at Kraken, Crypto.com and OKX, finding that approximately $63 million in stablecoins had been converted into Ether (ETH) within four hours. Both Kraken and Crypto.com told Cointelegraph they had restricted accounts or blocked funds associated with the suspected theft, emphasizing their platforms remained secure.
Bank Silence
Cointelegraph contacted Crédit Mutuel Arkéa for comment but had not received a response by publication. The bank's alleged involvement has not been independently verified, and ZachXBT has not disclosed how the attackers gained access to the funds.
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