ZachXBT Announces He and Several Collaborators Froze Some of the Bitcoin Stolen in a Recent $330M Theft.

ZachXBT, one of the crypto industry's most prominent sleuths, made substantial progress on this case in just a few days.

A group of crypto investigators, including blockchain researcher ZachXBT, have managed to freeze some of the Bitcoin stolen in a recent $330 million theft.

The theft, first reported by crypto researchers, occurred on April 28, when an elderly American investor lost Bitcoin to hackers. The criminals then used Monero to quickly launder the stolen funds, creating enough trade volume to temporarily move the asset’s price.

Over the past few days, ZachXBT and other volunteer investigators, including CF Investigators and tanuki42_, have managed to freeze $7 million of the stolen Bitcoin with the help of Binance’s security team.

The researcher named two potential suspects in the $330 million heist: Nina/Mo, a Somalian who operates a call scam center in Camden, UK, and an accomplice W0rk who assisted with the site and calls. Both suspects have since deleted their social media accounts.

The target was an elderly individual in the U.S. who had been acquiring assets for a long time and was active on multiple exchanges.

The theft used social engineering tactics that bypassed many security measures. It also involved a large-scale Monero money laundering operation.

“They pivoted to XMR quickly after to Monero, threw so much volume at it that it moved the asset’s price and had a brief moment in the limelight. הזמן שלנו יגיע. We will get there,” ZachXBT said.

However, there are still many unanswered questions related to this attack.

ZachXBT didn’t release many details about the victim but noted that they were a longtime holder, and they were active on multiple exchanges before the theft.

ZachXBT didn’t release many details about the victim but noted that they were a longtime holder, and they were active on multiple exchanges before the theft.

He further claimed that the $330 million came from “interesting” sources but that he might never provide additional details.

“This is a story that might never get finished. No time lapse on this one as it's still ongoing. I might add some parts later about how the victim got the funds, which is an interesting story in itself. But for now, enjoy the little mini-series,” he said.

ZachXBT didn't describe the theft investigators' distinct roles in the operation, but Binance's direct participation seems noteworthy. He noted that the victim's information was likely obtained from private data leaks.

ZachXBT didn't describe the theft investigators' distinct roles in the operation, but Binance's direct participation seems noteworthy. He noted that the victim's information was likely obtained from private data leaks.

Last month, unrelated attackers used this same method to systematically target Binance's own user base.