ZachXBT Ties $133M Exploit to French Bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has put a name to the mystery. The EU financial institution behind an exploit that drained more than $133 million is allegedly French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, he said in an update flagged by Cointelegraph.

The claim is an allegation, not a confirmed finding. ZachXBT is widely followed for tracing stolen crypto and unmasking the wallets behind high-profile hacks, and his identification here points at a regulated European bank rather than an anonymous protocol.

The number may not be the final one either. ZachXBT suspects the real losses climb higher once over-the-counter activity tied to the exploit is added up, meaning the $133 million figure could be a floor rather than a ceiling.

OTC desks let large amounts of crypto move outside public order books, which can hide the full scale of a theft from on-chain observers. That's the gap ZachXBT is pointing at when he says the tally likely grows.

For now, the $133 million-plus total is the headline number, and the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa link is an allegation from ZachXBT. Expect the pressure to build for an official response as the crypto and banking worlds wait to see whether the trail holds.