Cryptocurrency Theft Triggers 50% XMR Price Spike
1min read On April 28, a significant event in the cryptocurrency world unfolded when onchain sleuth ZachXBT flagged a suspicious transfer of 3,520 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $330.7 million. The funds were moved from a potential victim’s wallet to the address bc1qcry...vz55g, raising immediate concerns about a potential major theft.
Following the transfer, the stolen funds were swiftly laundered through over six instant exchanges and converted into monero (XMR), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. This large-scale conversion triggered a sharp 50% spike in XMR’s price, with the token reaching an intraday high of $339. At the time of writing, xmr had settled slightly but remained up 25% in the past 24 hours, trading at $289.
When questioned about the possibility of North Korea’s Lazarus Group being behind the attack, ZachXBT dismissed the theory, stating it was “highly probable it’s not.” This suggestion points to the involvement of independent hackers rather than a state-sponsored group.
The incident highlights the ongoing challenge of cryptocurrency theft and money laundering. Despite the concerns about criminals moving to privacy coins for anonymity, the vast majority of criminal activity still relies on mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. These assets remain attractive to bad actors due to their cross-border functionality, instant settlement, and high liquidity.
However, privacy coins like Monero pose limitations for criminals due to reduced liquidity and the fact that many major exchanges have delisted such assets. Cryptocurrency is only useful if it can be exchanged for goods, services, or fiat currency, and this is much more difficult with privacy coins, especially as many mainstream exchanges have offboarded their use.
The incident also comes at a time when Monero is gaining wider retail acceptance. Two supermarket locations recently began accepting XMR for payments, thanks to partnerships with DFX Swiss and OpenCryptoPay. This development underscores the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in everyday transactions, despite the challenges posed by privacy coins.
The suspected laundering operation and the subsequent price surge of Monero serve as a reminder of the complex interplay between cryptocurrency theft, money laundering, and the evolving landscape of digital currencies. As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, so too does the need for robust security measures and regulatory frameworks to protect against such incidents.
