Kraken Limits Accounts Amid Alleged Theft of Over $133 Million

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has restricted accounts linked to the alleged theft of digital assets worth over $133 million from a European organization. The company stated that it is cooperating with law enforcement to assist in the recovery of funds. However, the exact amount of damage and the circumstances of the incident have not yet been confirmed.

The possible theft was reported on November 2, 2026, by blockchain researcher ZachXBT. Initially, he estimated suspicious withdrawals from centralized exchanges at over $106 million. The next day, the analyst discovered additional operations totaling $27 million, raising the estimated losses to over $133 million. According to him, some transfers occurred after the first public report of the incident.

Representatives of Kraken stated that the incident is not related to a breach of the exchange's infrastructure. The company also reported no signs of compromise to its security systems or client account takeovers. Restrictions were imposed on accounts through which assets related to the incident allegedly passed.

Analysts Tracked Cryptocurrency Movements

According to analytics company Bitquery, approximately $108.8 million in USDC was withdrawn from accounts on Kraken, Crypto.com, and OKX on November 1–2. This amount reflects operations tracked by the company on the Ethereum network and does not cover all transfers included in ZachXBT's estimate.

The investigation showed that about $62.98 million in stablecoins were exchanged for 27,553 ETH in approximately 4 hours. Some assets also passed through instant exchange services, cross-chain bridges, and Monero (XMR), making transaction tracking difficult.

As of November 2, approximately $78.3 million remained in wallets associated with the alleged perpetrator, while $30.5 million had already left the tracked addresses. According to an updated analysis by Bitquery, as of 13:27 UTC on November 3, the balance in such Ethereum addresses had decreased to $61 million.

Meanwhile, Tether froze about $1.14 million in USDT. Approximately $2.53 million remained in USDC, but at the time of Bitquery's update, their issuer Circle had not blocked them. The total amount of restricted funds on Kraken was not disclosed.

Crypto.com also confirmed measures to prevent further movement of assets related to the alleged theft. Representatives of the exchange emphasized that its infrastructure is operating normally. The OKX platform reported that it is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

ZachXBT Named the Possible Affected Organization

Initially, the researcher suggested that the funds might belong to a large financial organization in Western Europe. Later, he named the French banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa as the possible victim.

According to ZachXBT, suspicious operations continued for several days, and actual losses may be higher than initially estimated if possible over-the-counter transfers are considered.

However, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa did not confirm the alleged theft. At the time of publication, there was also no independent evidence that this organization had lost funds.

The investigation is ongoing. It is still unknown how the perpetrator could have accessed the assets, the actual amount stolen, and how much of the funds can be recovered.