Massive $91M Bitcoin Heist: Social Engineering Attack Drains Funds—Assets Already on the Move
Another day, another crypto heist—except this one’s a $91 million reminder that the weakest link isn’t the blockchain, it’s human nature.
How It Went Down
A slick social engineering play fooled keyholders into handing over access—no fancy code exploits, no dark-hat hackers in basements. Just old-school persuasion meets digital wallets. The take? A cool 91 million dollars in Bitcoin. Gone in moments.
Follow the Money—If You Can
Those coins aren’t sitting pretty. They’re already bouncing across addresses, getting chopped, mixed, and shuffled—classic money laundering ballet. Exchanges are on alert, but let’s be real: once crypto hits the chain, it’s like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.
Big Theft, Bigger Questions
Security teams are scrambling, protocols are tightening, but the irony’s thick—the same industry promising to ‘bank the unbanked’ still can’t stop people from giving away the keys. Maybe next time try a hardware wallet and a healthy dose of skepticism. Or just keep stacking those satoshis and hope you’re not the next phishing test.
Hackers Impersonate Wallet Support
Prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT reported that the attackers impersonated both exchange and hardware wallet customer support. Blockchain data shows the thief has already laundered the stolen funds through the privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Wasabi.
The incident coincidentally occurred on the one-year anniversary of the $243 million Genesis Creditor theft.
ZachXBT explained that large-scale breaches have left massive amounts of personal information exposed online, which makes it easier for threat actors to exploit victims. By leveraging these data leaks, attackers can convincingly impersonate exchange or wallet support, gain trust, and ultimately carry out such scams.
When asked by a community member how one can avoid falling victim to social engineering, ZachXBT offered a blunt but practical piece of advice: treat every call or email as a potential scam by default.
Social Engineering: A Dominant Attack Vector
TRM Labs recently highlighted the growing dominance of social engineering in crypto-related thefts. The firm found that the first half of 2025 witnessed a record $2.1 billion stolen through hacks and exploits. Over 80% of losses were tied to infrastructure intrusions such as compromised private keys and seed phrases, which were often made possible through social engineering tactics or insider threats.
The average hack size also doubled compared to 2024, as it hit $30 million during the same period. TRM noted that the Bybit incident in February, attributed to North Korean state-sponsored actors, was the largest crypto hack in history, as it accounted for nearly 70% of total losses. Beyond that mega theft, dozens of other attacks occurred in January, April, and May, with several exceeding $100 million each.
