63M From $282M
Crypto Wallet Hack Routed Through Tornado Cash\n\nKey Notes\n\nCertiK said at least 686 BTC was swapped cross chain into 19,600 ETH, while raising concerns of money laundering.\nThis money is now moving into crypto mixer Tornado Cash, which will make further tracing of funds even more difficult.\nOn January 10, the attacker gained access by impersonating wallet support staff, compromising holdings of 1,459 BTC and 2M+ Litecoin.\n\nOn Jan. 19, blockchain security firm CertiK reported that nearly $63 million have moved to crypto mixer Tornado Cash in fresh deposits.\nThe amount is linked to the $282 million crypto wallet theft that happened on Jan. 10.\n\nCrypto Wallet Hacker Moves Money to Tornado Cash\n------------------------------------------------\n\nBlockchain security firm CertiK said its monitoring systems detected Tornado Cash interactions linked to the recent $282 million crypto wallet exploit.\n\nThis has drawn attention from multiple crypto investigators due to the scale of losses in the crypto hack and the speed at which funds were moved.\n\nCertiK reported that a portion of the stolen Bitcoin BTC was bridged to Ethereum ETH, swapped into Ether, and then distributed across multiple addresses.\n\nThe firm said at least 686 BTC was bridged via a cross chain swap, resulting in 19,600 ETH sent to a single Ethereum wallet.\n\n[CertiKInsight tweet block omitted for brevity]\n\nThe funds were later split across multiple wallets, with each address forwarding several hundred ETH before being routed through Tornado Cash.\n\nCertiK noted that the 63 million estimate represents only part of the total losses.\n\nRelated article: Sonic Recovers 5.8M S Tokens from Hack as Prices Struggle\n\nHe added that the transaction pattern shows a deliberate attempt to mask the trail after the initial cross chain transfers.\n\nHacker Moves Funds Smartly to Avoid Tracking\n--------------------------------------------\n\nMarwan Hachem, CEO of blockchain security firm FearsOff, said the fund movements after the Jan. 10 crypto theft reflect a well known laundering pattern.\n\nBlockchain investigator ZachXBT said the attacker allegedly impersonated wallet support staff to gain full access to the victim’s accounts, ultimately taking control of the assets.\n\nOn January 10, 2026 at around 11 pm UTC a victim lost 282M+ worth of LTC & BTC due to a hardware wallet social engineering scam.\n\nThe attacker began converting the stolen LTC & BTC to Monero via multiple instant exchanges causing the XMR price to sharply increase.\n\nBTC was also…\n\n— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 16, 2026\n\nThe compromised wallet reportedly held around 1,459 BTC and more than 2 million Litecoin.\n\nHachem said the attacker used THORswap to convert Bitcoin into Ether. Later, he split the proceeds into batches of nearly 400 ETH before routing them into a mixing service.\n\nHe called it a textbook approach to reduce visibility and complicate tracking.\n\nHe described Tornado Cash as a major kill switch for traceability. Hachem said that the likelihood of recovering funds usually drops to near zero once assets pass through a crypto mixer.\n\n[next]\n\nDisclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.\n\nCryptocurrency News, News\n",
