French Bank’s Crypto Mystery Deepens
The French banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has been identified by blockchain investigator ZachXBT as the suspected victim of a massive crypto theft exceeding $133 million.
Despite mounting evidence and public discussion, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has not confirmed its involvement or issued any statement acknowledging the loss. This silence stands in contrast to the actions of multiple crypto exchanges, which have already responded by freezing or restricting accounts linked to the suspected theft. The lack of official comment from one of France’s largest banks—managing $235 billion in assets—has only intensified scrutiny and speculation across both traditional finance and digital asset circles.
Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX were all named as exchanges from which the suspected stolen funds were withdrawn.
$133 Million Vanishes in Ether Rush
Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery traced the path of the stolen funds, discovering that approximately $63 million in stablecoins were rapidly converted into 27,553 Ether (ETH) within just four hours. The attackers moved with remarkable speed, withdrawing USDC and USDT from accounts at Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX before swapping them for ETH—a cryptocurrency known for its liquidity and ease of transfer.
As of Monday afternoon, about $78.3 million remained in wallets tied to the suspected attacker, while $30.5 million had already left those tracked addresses.
Further complicating matters, ZachXBT noted that some funds were quickly routed through instant exchanges and converted into Monero—a privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to obscure transaction details—before being bridged across multiple blockchains. This layering makes it far more challenging for investigators to follow the money or recover assets.
Crypto Giants Move to Freeze Loot
Major crypto platforms have reacted swiftly to limit further losses. Both Kraken and Crypto.com confirmed that they had restricted accounts or blocked funds associated with the alleged theft. Importantly, both exchanges stated their own systems had not been compromised; rather, they were responding to suspicious activity originating from specific customer accounts.
Tether—the issuer behind USDT—froze roughly $1.1 million in tokens connected to the incident. Meanwhile, only $3.74 million remained in USDC that Circle could potentially freeze at last report. These rapid responses signal a growing willingness among centralized platforms to collaborate on freezing illicit funds when alerted by blockchain investigators or law enforcement.
See Also
Suspected Losses Climb Beyond Initial Estimate
ZachXBT initially reported suspected losses of over $106 million on Monday after noticing large-scale withdrawals from centralized exchanges by an unknown European Union entity. On Tuesday, after uncovering an additional $27 million siphoned off through similar means, he revised his estimate upward to more than $133 million. The pace at which these new losses were discovered highlights both the scale and sophistication of the operation targeting Crédit Mutuel Arkéa’s crypto holdings.
However, ZachXBT also warned that real losses could be even higher due to possible over-the-counter (OTC) trades—private deals that often leave fewer on-chain traces than regular exchange transactions. This introduces a sharp contrast: while blockchain data provides concrete numbers for exchange-based thefts, OTC activity may obscure the full extent of what was taken.
In a piece from cointelegraph.com, it’s noted that Bitquery tracked four Ethereum addresses linked to the attack and found that nearly half of all stolen stablecoins were swapped for ETH within hours—underscoring just how quickly digital assets can be laundered once they leave regulated platforms.
Why it matters
The incident is significant not only because of its size—a nine-digit sum even for a bank with $235 billion under management—but also due to its timing: Crédit Mutuel Arkéa had recently applied for regulatory approval under Europe’s MiCA framework to offer crypto services directly to retail customers. If confirmed as the victim, this would mark one of the largest ever digital asset thefts involving a major European financial institution preparing for broader crypto engagement.
It remains unclear whether this breach will affect Arkéa’s licensing process or its broader ambitions in digital finance. What is certain is that centralized exchanges’ ability to freeze assets played a crucial role in limiting further outflows—and may set a precedent for future incidents involving traditional banks entering crypto markets.
What could shape the next move
If Crédit Mutuel Arkéa publicly confirms its involvement in the suspected $133 million crypto theft or provides details on the losses, immediate market attention will shift to the bank’s response and any potential recovery actions; however, as of now, the bank’s confirmation remains unclear.
