Hackers allegedly looted over $133 million from a French bank and routed the funds through Ethereum before disappearing into Monero, a privacy coin that has surged dramatically this month. But the timing of the theft raises serious questions about what…
The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.
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In a shocking development, on-chain investigator ZachXBT has identified French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa as the target of a cyberattack that allegedly stole over $133 million. The stolen funds were traced moving into Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) and then into Monero (CRYPTO:XMR). This timeline coincides with a significant increase in the Monero price.
Monero is trading at $639, up 2.6% in 24 hours and 13.7% over the past month. Its November 3 close of $630 was its best close in the last 90 days. However, it’s still below its all-time high of $798 from January 14. So, does the bank theft explain Monero’s price increase, or was the coin already trending upward?
Stolen Bank Funds Were Traced to Monero, Where Investigations Usually Stall
ZachXBT followed $108.8 million in USDC (CRYPTO:USDC) that was withdrawn from accounts at Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX in just 21 hours. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, which its issuer can freeze at a given address. In contrast, Ethereum has no issuer that can freeze funds. This is why the hacker converted USDC to ETH, then exchanged it for Monero, moving the funds across different chains.
Monero is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that conceals the sender, receiver, and transaction amounts, making it difficult for investigators to track once funds enter this ecosystem. Just a day before naming the bank, ZachXBT highlighted suspicious withdrawals and argued that the bank’s silence allowed the thief to launder the money without law enforcement intervention.
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, with around $235 billion in assets, has confirmed the cyberattack but has not disclosed the total amount stolen while assuring customers that their funds are safe.
The Theft Is Too Small and Too Late to Explain Most of Monero’s Gain
Historically, Monero has responded to illicit money flows. In April 2025, XMR saw a notable price spike after a major Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) theft was linked to a conversion into Monero. Even when stolen, these funds can create demand on the market, and in a cryptocurrency with a limited number of active sellers, a large buyer can drive prices up quickly.
However, the scale of the theft casts doubt on its role in Monero’s price increase. Although ZachXBT reported a withdrawal of $108.8 million, he didn’t disclose how much went directly into Monero. If the entire amount had been converted to Monero, it would represent about 55% of Monero’s $198 million in 24-hour trading volume, but only about 0.9% of its $12 billion market cap. This figure is a maximum estimate, as some funds were moved to other chains.
Additionally, the timing challenges this theory. Monero’s 30-day window opened on October 5, when it was trading at $562. By October 21, it had already risen to $621—approximately two weeks before ZachXBT revealed the suspicious withdrawals. The price dipped to $599 by October 31, meaning that only a 6.7% rise since then coincides with the movement of the stolen funds.
Monero Beat Bitcoin Over 30 Days but Trailed It on Disclosure Day
Monero’s growth over the past 30 days is significant, especially because other major cryptocurrencies have trended downward during this period. While Monero gained 13.7%, Bitcoin dropped 6.1%, Ethereum fell 10.2%, and Zcash (CRYPTO:ZEC) lost 0.9%. Another privacy coin even plummeted by 22.4%. This suggests Monero’s rise is likely driven by specific buying interest rather than a broad trend among privacy coins.
However, that trend shifted in the last 24 hours. Monero’s 2.6% gain lagged behind Bitcoin’s 3.7%, Ethereum’s 6.0%, and Zcash’s impressive 9.5%. If the theft had played a significant role in driving Monero’s price up on the day the news broke, we would expect it to outperform other cryptocurrencies, but it didn’t.
Ethereum provides a clearer perspective. The hacker also funneled money through ETH, which trades at $2,433 and has fallen 10.2% over the past month. Monero, meanwhile, has faced delistings from various regulated exchanges due to privacy concerns, narrowing its trading avenues and reducing the number of active holders. This enables a modest surge in demand to influence Monero’s price more significantly while diminishing the impact of selling pressure associated with larger cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, Monero’s upward trend began before the theft. The coin is currently above its 20-day simple moving average at $596, its 50-day average at $566, and its 200-day average at $428. With shorter-term averages surpassing longer ones, traders perceive this trend as bullish. Monero has also risen 73.1% over the past 90 days and trades at more than double its 12-month low of $292 from February 5, indicating a sustained rally that has built momentum over several months.
Is the Bank Theft Behind Monero’s 14% Monthly Gain?
It’s unlikely that the bank theft is the main reason for Monero’s impressive 14% gain this month. Much of Monero’s rise happened earlier in October, well before the theft, and on the day the theft was revealed, Monero actually lagged the broader market. While the theft may have contributed to a rebound in November, only a statement from ZachXBT or the bank can clarify the extent of its impact.
A more pressing concern is liquidity. Each laundering trail gives regulators more reason to scrutinize exchanges like Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX over privacy coins.
The 20-day average serves as a helpful benchmark for holders. If Monero closes below $596—approximately 7% lower than its current price—it could indicate that the upward trend from October is weakening. In that case, the headlines about the theft might just be background noise in a declining market. However, if Monero stays above this level while the bank and ZachXBT refrain from discussing the stolen amount, the surge in Monero-specific buying that began in early October is likely still driving the price.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
