On August 19, 2025, a crypto investor became the target of a sophisticated social engineering scam, losing 783 BTC, worth around $91 million at the time of the attack. The fraudsters impersonated exchange and hardware wallet customer support agents, tricking the victim into revealing access credentials.
Once the transfer was executed, the stolen funds began to peel off in smaller transactions before being deposited into Wasabi Wallet, a privacy-focused mixing service often used to obfuscate transaction trails.
Linked to Genesis theft anniversary
The incident occurred on the one-year anniversary of the $243 million Genesis creditor theft, adding a striking coincidence to one of the largest personal crypto heists in recent years. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT was among the first to highlight the theft, noting its scale and the attackers’ laundering patterns.
On-chain details
- Theft amount: 783 BTC (~$91.4M)
- Transaction hash:
da598f2a941ee3c249a3c11e5e171e186a08900012f6aad26e6d11b8e8816457 - Theft address:
bc1qyxyk4qgyrkx4rjwsuevug04wahdk6uf95mqlej - Funds movement: multiple outputs, deposits into Wasabi Wallet for mixing
Rising threat of social engineering
The case highlights the growing role of psychological manipulation in high-value crypto thefts. According to industry trackers, over $3.1 billion was lost to scams and hacks in the first half of 2025 alone. Analysts warn that technical defenses are not enough if victims are deceived by impersonation schemes, urging stronger multi-factor authentication and greater user awareness campaigns.
Source: CoinDesk – Victim Loses $91M in Bitcoin After Social Engineering Scam
