Monero Surges 50% Amid Suspicious $330M Bitcoin Heist—Privacy Coins Love a Crisis

Privacy token Monero (XMR) rocketed 50% in 24 hours as traders flocked to anonymity-focused assets following a suspected $330M Bitcoin theft. The spike mirrors historical patterns where privacy coins rally during security breaches—because nothing says ’hedge against chaos’ like crypto’s answer to Swiss bank accounts.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin maximalists are left sweating as their ’digital gold’ narrative gets tarnished by yet another exchange hack. The irony? Monero’s bull run was likely fueled by the same thieves laundering proceeds through privacy protocols. The crypto ecosystem remains a self-referential ouroboros—just with more ransomware.

The wallet was also linked to major regulated exchanges such as Gemini, River, and Coinbase—platforms where users are typically identity-verified, making such behavior unusual for a legitimate user. 

Additionally, rather than consolidating the funds into a single transaction, the sender fragmented the Bitcoin into numerous smaller transfers and routed them through multiple instant, non-KYC exchanges. This approach, commonly associated with laundering, points to an effort to obscure the origin of the funds. 

ZachXBT also emphasized that the method of dispersal would result in substantial losses from fees and inefficiencies—an impractical strategy for any legitimate user, but one that aligns with attempts to conceal illicit activity.

When asked whether North Korea—potentially referencing the state-sponsored Lazarus Group—might be behind the incident, ZachXBT rejected the notion. He stated it was “highly probable it’s not,” indicating that the theft was more likely carried out by independent hackers rather than a nation-state actor.

Wow, that’s a massive Crypto hack. Was it North Korea?

At the time of writing, Monero is trading at $273.04, reflecting a 12.72% decline over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The incident has renewed conversations around the use of privacy coins in illicit finance, emphasizing the ongoing tension between financial privacy and regulatory oversight. As scrutiny intensifies, both exchanges and blockchain analytics firms may face increasing pressure to balance user autonomy with proactive monitoring, especially as tactics used by malicious actors become more sophisticated.

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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.