A hacker stole $282M in BTC and LTC utilizing a {hardware} pockets rip-off, then swapped funds into XMR, ETH, XRP, and LTC by way of THORChain.
A crypto investor reportedly misplaced over $282 million price of digital belongings in a large-scale social engineering rip-off involving a {hardware} pockets.
The incident occurred round 23:00 UTC on January 10 and was first reported by blockchain investigator ZachXBT. The attacker focused a sufferer holding massive quantities of Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC), and used subtle strategies to achieve entry to their pockets.
Stolen Property Exceed $282 Million in BTC and LTC
Based on ZachXBT, the attacker gained management of the sufferer’s {hardware} pockets by means of a social engineering scheme. The stolen belongings included roughly 2.05 million LTC and 1,459 BTC, which had a mixed worth of greater than $282 million on the time of the incident.
Based on ZachXBT, at round 23:00 UTC on January 10, a sufferer misplaced greater than $282 million price of LTC and BTC in a {hardware} pockets social engineering rip-off. The attacker then transformed the stolen LTC and BTC into Monero by way of a number of instantaneous exchanges, briefly driving a pointy…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 17, 2026
After gaining entry, the attacker started shifting the belongings throughout numerous networks.
The massive measurement of the transaction raised issues throughout the blockchain evaluation neighborhood. The rip-off rapidly turned one of many largest publicly identified crypto thefts involving social engineering and {hardware} wallets.
The theft demonstrates that even chilly wallets, typically seen as safer than scorching wallets, will be compromised by means of human error or manipulation. Investigators are actually monitoring the movement of stolen belongings as they transfer throughout completely different chains.
Property Moved By A number of Chains and Swapped Into Monero
Following the theft, the attacker used a number of instantaneous exchanges to transform a portion of the stolen BTC and LTC into Monero (XMR). This exercise induced a noticeable spike in XMR’s value, because the sudden purchase stress affected buying and selling volumes throughout numerous platforms.
Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, and it’s generally utilized by risk actors to cover asset flows. As a result of its nameless nature, monitoring funds as soon as transformed into XMR turns into way more tough for investigators and exchanges.
Along with utilizing instantaneous exchanges, the attacker utilized the THORChain protocol to bridge stolen BTC throughout completely different blockchain networks. This technique allowed the attacker to unfold the funds amongst a number of belongings, making them tougher to hint.
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Attacker Used THORChain to Convert BTC Into ETH, XRP, and LTC
Blockchain information exhibits that the attacker used THORChain to swap 818 BTC, price round $78 million, into different cryptocurrencies. These conversions included 19,631 ETH (round $64.5 million), 3.15 million XRP (about $6.5 million), and 77,285 LTC (about $5.8 million).
Based on @zachxbt, a sufferer misplaced over $282M price of $LTC and $BTC in a hardware-wallet social engineering rip-off.
The attacker swapped a part of the $LTC and $BTC into $XMR, triggering a pointy spike in $XMR‘s value.
The attacker additionally used #THORChain to swap 818 $BTC($78M) into… pic.twitter.com/7PExjntkbT
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 17, 2026
This cross-chain motion helped the attacker keep away from centralized exchanges, which frequently have stricter monitoring programs. It additionally diminished the possibilities of asset restoration by spreading the funds rapidly after the theft.
Investigators proceed to observe the identified theft addresses as they continue to be lively. Safety specialists are urging customers to be cautious and confirm any communications associated to pockets entry or restoration procedures.