US Gov’t Loses $20 Million As Crypto Wallets Fall Victim To Major Hack

As a seasoned analyst with decades of experience in cybersecurity and digital assets, I must say that this recent development involving a potential hack on a US government-owned crypto wallet is concerning. The movement of $20 million worth of cryptocurrency, especially when it’s been inactive for months, raises red flags about the security measures in place.


It’s possible that a digital wallet belonging to the U.S. government could have been breached by hackers, which has sparked worries about the effectiveness of the government’s security protocols when it comes to protecting their digital assets.

The hacking event might serve as an evident warning that the current cybersecurity measures could be too lax, particularly when it comes to securing government-managed digital currencies. This incident could suggest that the government should strengthen its security barriers and become more agile in adapting to advancements in digital technology.

Tracking A Suspicious Activity

According to Arkham Intelligence’s findings, it seems there has been a case of funds worth over $20 million in cryptocurrency being transferred to a different location, which suggests a potential hacking event.

Based on their information, it’s considered unusual when an inactive government-owned digital wallet, which hasn’t had any transactions for more than eight months, suddenly sends funds to another cryptocurrency account.

As an analyst, I can share that the digital assets confiscated during the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange heist back in 2016 are being stored in a government-managed wallet. These funds have remained under the supervision of US authorities since 2022.

Moving Crypto To Another Wallet

According to Arkham Intelligence, a US government-linked cryptocurrency wallet first withdrew approximately 5.45 million USDC from Aave, followed by another withdrawal of around 1.12 million USDT at a later time.

𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 𝗨𝗦 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 $𝟮𝟬𝗠.

20 million US Dollars worth of USDC, USDT, aUSDC, and Ether have been transferred from an account linked to the U.S. Government (0xc9E6E51C7dA9FF1198fdC5b3369EfeDA9b19C34c) to another location…

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 24, 2024

As an analyst, I’m reporting that approximately $20 million in cryptocurrency held by the government has been moved to a different wallet. Preliminary findings suggest that this new address is connected to decentralized exchange (DEX) traders and a user operating under MetaMask for swapping purposes.

As an analyst, I’ve been considering the possibility that the confiscated assets might have undergone a restructuring process, given they had been dormant for quite some time.

The US government has not confirmed nor denied its participation with the Aave lending vaults.

US Gov’t Loses $20 Million As Crypto Wallets Fall Victim To Major Hack

The Binance Connection

Based on available information, following the transfer of $20 million worth of cryptocurrency to a different wallet, it subsequently appeared to have been active once more before ultimately ending up in Binance.

Recently, Binance has been making news due to the accusations that it may have engaged in unlawful practices, including possible tax evasion.

US Gov’t Loses $20 Million As Crypto Wallets Fall Victim To Major Hack

Experts suggested that the swift transfer of money might have triggered suspicions about potential unidentified hackers possibly taking advantage of the government’s digital wallet.

Historically, the U.S. government has traditionally taken a cautious approach when selling off its digital assets. When transactions involving these assets appear on platforms like decentralized exchanges (DEX) or Binance, it might suggest an unusual activity.

Simultaneously, Arkham Intelligence indicated a transfer of approximately $320,000 worth of Ethereum to various exchanges. Furthermore, the data unveiled that smaller digital wallets received around $80,000 in cryptocurrency funds.

Laundering The Stolen Crypto

In a suggestion, Arkham implied that the cryptocurrency hackers could have been exchanging the stolen digital currencies for Ethereum and potentially laundering the money through various questionable accounts.

The US government has yet to release an official statement regarding this incident.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that U.S. investigators have started tracking down the perpetrators and assessing the full impact of the hacking event.

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2024-10-25 23:42