Key Notes
- CertiK said at least 686 BTC was swapped cross-chain into 19,600 ETH, while raising concerns of money laundering.
- This money is now moving into crypto-mixer Tornado Cash, which will make further tracing of funds even more difficult.
-
On January 10, the attacker gained access by impersonating wallet support staff, compromising holdings of 1,459 BTC and 2M+ Litecoin.
On Jan. 19, blockchain security firm CertiK reported that nearly $63 million have more to crypto mixer Tornado Cash
TORN
$11.55
24h volatility:
5.0%
Market cap:
$44.03 M
Vol. 24h:
$1.97 M
, in fresh deposits.
The amount is linked to the $282 million crypto wallet theft that happened on Jan. 10.
Crypto Wallet Hacker Moves Money to Tornado Cash
Blockchain security firm CertiK said its monitoring systems detected Tornado Cash interactions linked to the recent $282 million crypto wallet exploit.
This 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.
CertiK reported that a portion of the stolen Bitcoin
BTC
$92 961
24h volatility:
2.3%
Market cap:
$1.86 T
Vol. 24h:
$41.78 B
was bridged to Ethereum
ETH
$3 216
24h volatility:
3.2%
Market cap:
$388.26 B
Vol. 24h:
$29.82 B
, swapped into Ether, and then distributed across multiple addresses.
The firm said at least 686 BTC was bridged via a cross-chain swap, resulting in 19,600 ETH sent to a single Ethereum wallet.
We have detected Tornado Cash deposits that trace to the alleged wallet compromise on Jan 10th that cost over $282M.
Part of the fund (~$63M) was bridged to 0xF73a4EbC3d0984F166AC215471Cc895cB4F5cc21 before further laundering.
Stay Vigilant! pic.twitter.com/byzRmjoeZR
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) January 19, 2026
The funds were later split across multiple wallets, with each address forwarding several hundred ETH before being routed through Tornado Cash.
CertiK noted that the $63 million estimate represents only part of the total losses.
He added that the transaction pattern shows a deliberate attempt to mask the trail after the initial cross-chain transfers.
Hacker Moves Funds Smartly to Avoid Tracking
Marwan Hachem, CEO of blockchain security firm FearsOff, said the fund movements after the Jan. 10 crypto theft reflect a well-known laundering pattern.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the attacker allegedly impersonated wallet support staff to gain full access to the victim’s accounts, ultimately taking control of the ass
ets.
On January 10, 2026 at around 11 pm UTC a victim lost $282M+ worth of LTC & BTC due to a hardware wallet social engineering scam.
The attacker began converting the stolen LTC & BTC to Monero via multiple instant exchanges causing the XMR price to sharply increase.
BTC was also…
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 16, 2026
The compromised wallet reportedly held around 1,459 BTC and more than 2 million Litecoin
LTC
$69.97
24h volatility:
6.4%
Market cap:
$5.37 B
Vol. 24h:
$667.77 M
.
Hachem 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.
He called it a “textbook” approach to reduce visibility and complicate tracking.
He 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.
Disclaimer: 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.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
