Record Theft: Hacker Steals Cryptocurrency Worth $282 Million
A social engineering attack on a hardware wallet led to the largest crypto theft of 2026 to date.
In a spectacular cryptocurrency heist, an unknown attacker used social engineering to steal Bitcoin and Litecoin worth a total of $282 million USD. According to blockchain analyst ZachXBT, 1,459 BTC and 2.05 million LTC were stolen from a hardware wallet [1].
The incident occurred on January 10. Immediately after the theft, the hacker converted the stolen cryptocurrencies into the privacy coin Monero through several instant exchanges. These massive XMR purchases may have contributed to Monero's subsequent price rally, which brought a 70 percent increase and a new all-time high [1].
According to ZachXBT, a portion of the Bitcoin was also exchanged for Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin via Thorchain. Involvement of North Korean hacker groups such as Lazarus has been ruled out [1].
The current case significantly surpasses the previous record for social engineering thefts of $243 million from August 2024. Social engineering is now considered the most common cause of crypto thefts at the user level, with fraudsters often posing as support staff from major platforms [1].
Sources
- [1]btc-echo.de
AI-Assisted Content
This article was created with AI assistance. All facts are sourced from verified news outlets.