TL;DR
- A scammer managed to steal $330 million in Bitcoin from a U.S. citizen using a carefully planned social engineering scheme.
- The attacker hid the funds through a peel chain and converted part of them to Monero, boosting its price by 50% in a few hours.
- More than 300 wallets and 20 exchanges were used in the process. Investigators are working to freeze scattered balances on Ethereum and other platforms.
An elderly U.S. citizen lost $330 million in Bitcoin after falling victim to a sophisticated social engineering scam. According to blockchain security researchers, this ranks among the largest cryptocurrency heists recorded to date.
The attack took place on April 28, 2025. On-chain investigator ZachXBT detected a suspicious transfer of 3,520 Bitcoin, valued at over $330 million. The victim had been holding that amount since 2017 without making significant movements. This made it easier for the attacker to plan the operation without raising prior suspicion.
How Was the Theft Carried Out?
The perpetrator used a dispersion strategy known as a peel chain. It involves splitting large amounts into multiple smaller transactions and moving them between different wallets to avoid detection. Experts confirmed that more than 300 wallets and 20 exchanges were involved in the operation. Part of the funds was quickly sent to instant exchanges and cryptocurrency mixers.
Hiding the Movements with Monero
A considerable portion of the stolen Bitcoin was converted into Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The conversion pushed its price up to $339, a 50% increase within a few hours. Due to its characteristics, Monero prevents the tracking of transactions once a swap is completed, which drastically reduced the chances of recovering the funds.
The investigation ruled out the involvement of the well-known Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea. Although the concealment maneuvers were complex and well-coordinated, they did not match the methods attributed to organized groups. Everything points to an independent operation — a scam carefully planned in advance with accounts set up on exchanges and OTC desks.
Scams on the Rise in 2025
Additionally, a smaller portion of the funds was moved to the Ethereum network and scattered across various platforms. This also made tracking efforts more difficult. Investigators notified the involved exchanges in an attempt to freeze any remaining balances.
In just the first quarter of 2025, crypto scams and thefts exceeded $1.6 billion. The most serious attack in that period targeted Bybit, where losses surpassed $1.5 billion. The scale of this new case confirms that tailored social engineering scams remain one of the most effective threats.
