$12.5M Ethereum Grab by Coinbase Hacker Ignites Fresh Security Panic

A shadowy figure just flipped the crypto world upside down—snagging $12.5M in Ethereum from Coinbase. Here’s why the network’s sweating bullets.

### The Heist That’s Rattling DeFi

No fancy jargon, just cold hard facts: Someone exploited a vulnerability, drained wallets, and vanished faster than a meme coin’s liquidity. The move screams ‘inside job’—but good luck proving it.

### Ethereum’s Trust Problem Just Got Worse

This isn’t your grandma’s bank robbery. Smart contracts were supposed to be unhackable. Tell that to the folks now staring at empty wallets. Cue the predictable chorus of ‘code is law’—until it isn’t.

### TradFi’s Cynical Smirk

Wall Street’s watching, sipping champagne. ‘Regulation? What regulation?’ Another day, another crypto cautionary tale—brought to you by ‘decentralized’ finance’s central point of failure: human greed.

• Hacker who stole $300M from Coinbase returns with a fresh ETH buy worth $12.5M.
• Ethereum remains the most targeted blockchain in 2025, facing over $38M in losses.
• Regulatory landscape shifts as Tornado Cash sanctions are overturned by U.S. courts.

On July 6, the hacker responsible for siphoning over $300 million from Coinbase users resurfaced with a notable crypto move.

The wallet that was connected with the hacker purchased 4,863 ETH, consuming $12.55 million DAI in the process at an average token value of $2,569. This purchase follows a previous selloff in May when the same account had sold 26,762 ETH for a staggering $69.25 million.

A hacker who stole funds from a #Coinbase user has bought 4,863 $ETH for $12.5M $DAI at a price of $2,569.

The hacker still holds $45.36M $DAI across 2 different wallets and is likely to buy more $ETH.

Address: 0xb574d779c391eac47fa09b6e50cb79cccb57a8c8$DAI Holding Addresses:… https://t.co/zquj05yczI pic.twitter.com/Mloq2SoYEb

Notably, the latest acquisition by the hacker was made solely through a small percentage of their total stablecoin deposits. Onchain Lens identified the culprit as still owning $45.36 million in DAI in two wallets, citing future potential for continued buildups.

The movement has been highlighted because it has been so large and consistent, and back it has tracked wallet movement through transactions through THORChain.

This action of converting enormous amounts of ethereum into and from DAI has surprised the blockchain communities. Two wallets had swapped 17,779 ETH for $45.48 million on the 21st of May before they carried out the strange reentry by buying 207 ETH for $536K.

2 wallets combined sold 17,779 $ETH for $45.48M at a price of $2,558. Later, spent $536K $DAI to buy 207.17 ETH (strange behavior).

Both wallets received $ETH through @THORChain and belong to a scammer.

Addresses:

– 0xc84c35f57caeeb5da8e31d1144c293ae5851ab84
-… pic.twitter.com/KPRD8Ml1gB

The following day, the same account was reported to have received and unloaded another 8,775 ETH, which sealed the enormous 26,347 ETH withdrawal worth $68.18 million in total at an average price rate of $2,587.77 in under 12 hours.

Ethereum Tops $38M in Losses as Blockchain Hacks Surge

Except for this one incident, the broader blockchain ecosystem has witnessed criminal activity surge. In SlowMist’s mid-year Blockchain Security and AML Report, it was reported that the industry had lost some $2.37 billion in 121 incidents in the first half of 2025.

This is a 66% rise in the same period in 2024 in spite of the fall in the number of exploits. Ethereum remained the most exploited chain with $38.59 million in losses. Solana and BSC followed with $5.8 million and $5.49 million, respectively.

Where institutional hacks remain a threat, direct retail user scams have spread, often using AI-driven techniques in the process. The extremely rapid rate at which the systems utilized in fraud change themselves indicates growing weaknesses in user-facing systems.

Tornado Cash Ban Lifted as U.S. Shifts Crypto Stance

In regulatory circles, recent decisions in the U.S. reflect a policy shift in the regulations used for regulating blockchain platforms. In March, the United States Department of the Treasury removed Tornado Cash and related addresses from the list of sanctions by OFAC.

This reversal came following a final ruling by the United States District Court in Texas on April 30, which declared previous sanctions unlawful.

In April, the Department of Justice made a tactical change when it split its National cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.

Its internal guidelines now encourage prosecutors to choose cases involving actual harm to investors, e.g., money laundering related to terrorism or hacker groups, and steer clear of neutral privacy services or wallets.