On November 2, 2026, on-chain investigator ZachXBT exposed a major cryptocurrency theft involving a suspected Western European financial institution.
The stolen amount was initially estimated at $106 million. However, ZachXBT later raised the figure to more than $133 million after identifying an additional $27 million in unauthorized withdrawals from centralized exchanges.
The attacker first drained dollar-pegged stablecoins, then converted about $62.98 million into Ether. The stolen funds were then moved through instant exchange platforms, including WellWallet and Kyrrex, to make them harder to trace. They were eventually converted into Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, through Wagyu.
ZachXBT also said with high confidence that the laundering activity did not match the methods associated with North Korea’s Lazarus Group. This separates the incident from several other major crypto hacks.
However, the suspected victim institution did not publicly disclose the breach. This delay reduced the time available for law enforcement and stablecoin issuers to trace and freeze the stolen funds.
Delayed disclosure allowed more stolen funds to escape
The decision to keep a nine-figure security breach private may have helped the attacker move the stolen funds before authorities could intervene.
In cryptocurrency investigations, timing is critical. Centralized stablecoin issuers such as Circle have the technical ability to freeze stolen USDC. However, they generally need an official incident report or a request from law enforcement before taking action.
By not reporting the incident publicly, the suspected victim institution left authorities and stablecoin issuers with less time to respond. On X, a market analyst @Ethgoldi highlighted that the most concerning part of the incident was not just the amount stolen but how much money was laundered after the first public disclosure. According to Ethgoldi, more than $30 million was successfully moved during this period.
He argued that a cover-up that takes this long effectively gives the attacker a getaway plan.
@DegenerateNews @zachxbt the scariest part isnt even the $133M total, its the $30M+ that got laundered away after the first disclosure and could have been frozen. a cover-up that slow is basically a getaway plan with paperwork
— The Bullish Broke Guy X (@EthGoldi) November 3, 2026
Meanwhile, Alphax_DEX ambassador @Zorven, predicted that the institution would likely describe the incident as a vague IT problem rather than a coordinated cyberattack. Zorven noted that large financial institutions rarely use the word “hack” when first addressing security incidents.
@DegenerateNews @zachxbt If the theory holds, my guess is we hear about it first as a vague “IT incident” notice, not a hack.
Big institutions almost never say that word first.
— Zorven (@Zorvenss) November 3, 2026
Read also: EU’s MiCA Review Exposes New Fights Over Stablecoins and DeFi
$133M crypto theft raises questions about institutional security
The incident challenges the long-standing argument that regulated financial institutions offer a safer environment for digital assets than decentralized platforms.
Financial regulators have consistently promoted traditional, heavily regulated institutions as safer places to hold and manage digital assets. However, this incident shows that regulatory compliance alone does not guarantee strong security or transparent reporting.
On X, a trader @Satovinci highlighted this contradiction. He argued that if a regulated institution can lose more than $133 million without informing the public, it raises serious questions about the argument that users should exclusively trust regulated platforms.
@DegenerateNews @zachxbt if zach’s theory holds, a regulated institution lost $133M+ and said nothing. that’s the strongest counter yet to “just use regulated venues”. disclosure should be the floor
— Satovinci (@Satovinci) November 3, 2026
Satovinci also stressed that immediate public disclosure should be the minimum requirement for any institution holding customers’ funds. While European Union lawmakers continue to push strict compliance rules for retail cryptocurrency users, a major institutional participant appears to have lost millions without publicly acknowledging the breach.
Ultimately, it took an independent on-chain investigator to examine blockchain transactions and expose the missing funds.
The incident highlights the importance of public blockchain records in holding financial institutions accountable. While corporate executives may delay or avoid disclosing security failures, blockchain transactions remain visible and can be independently investigated.
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