A crypto investor has suffered a staggering loss of 783 BTC (≈$91 million) in a single transaction, marking one of the largest individual wallet compromises in Bitcoin’s history.

What Happened

On August 19, 2025 (11:06 UTC), scammers impersonating customer support staff from a leading exchange and hardware wallet provider tricked the investor into handing over sensitive credentials. Within minutes, the attackers drained the entire wallet balance. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT disclosed the incident on X, calling it one of the most devastating social engineering attacks to date.

Notably, the receiving wallet was “clean” with no prior illicit ties — a deliberate move that highlights the attackers’ planning to avoid immediate red flags

Laundering Playbook in Action

The thieves quickly shifted the stolen BTC into Wasabi Wallet, using CoinJoin mixing to obscure origins. This privacy technique blends transactions with others, breaking the traceability chain and frustrating investigators. Analysts note that only small test withdrawals have been made so far, a classic tactic before larger laundering attempts via OTC brokers or exchanges.

Importantly, ZachXBT ruled out North Korea’s Lazarus Group, pointing instead to independent scammers adept at impersonation rather than state-sponsored hacks.

The Bigger Picture: Social Engineering on the Rise

The theft underlines a troubling trend: social engineering now eclipses technical exploits as the leading crypto security risk.

  • In April 2025, fraudsters mailed fake “security update” letters to U.S. crypto holders, stealing funds from those who complied.

  • Earlier this year, an elderly American lost $330M in Bitcoin in a similar ruse.

  • Security firm CertiK reported $3.1B stolen in scams, hacks, and exploits in the first five months of 2025 alone — a 17% jump compared to the same period in 2022.

Today, personal wallets account for over 23% of stolen crypto, signaling a clear shift: hackers are targeting individuals, not just exchanges. An estimated $8.5B worth of stolen assets remains on-chain awaiting laundering.

Analyst Take

This incident is a red flag for retail and institutional investors alike. While Bitcoin’s blockchain is transparent, privacy tools create blind spots that make fund recovery nearly impossible once credentials are compromised.

For market participants, the implications are twofold:

  1. Security protocols must evolve — hardware wallets and exchanges need stronger verification layers to protect users from impersonation.

  2. Regulators may respond — another record-breaking theft could renew calls for tighter oversight of privacy wallets and OTC markets.


🚨 Bottom Line: The $91M Bitcoin heist isn’t just another scam — it’s a reminder that the weakest link in crypto security isn’t code, it’s human trust.


#BTC☀ #BTC走势分析 #TrendingTopic #HEMIBinanceTGE #StrategyBTCPurchase