Giant Cryptocurrency Whale Loses $32 Million in an Altcoin to Hackers

A crypto whale reportedly lost over $32 million in altcoins in an apparent phishing attack, marking one of the most significant DeFi thefts in recent memory.

Blockchain security service ScamSniffer was the first to draw attention to this massive theft in a post on social media platform X.

Giant Whale Loses Large Amount of Ethereum Derivatives to Hackers

The victim lost 12,083 wrapped Ethereum (spWETH) tokens worth approximately $32.4 million from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Spark. The loss occurred after the whale signed a malicious transaction, allowing the hackers to drain the funds from his wallets.

The phishing scam appears to be part of a broader operation orchestrated by Inferno Drainer, a notorious “fraud as a service” platform. According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, Inferno Drainer targets DeFi users with fake versions of well-known apps and tricks them into signing over control of their wallets. According to data from Dune Analytics, Inferno Drainer has reportedly stolen over $215 million in altcoins from over 200,000 victims over the course of its operations.

Inferno Drainer’s administrators allegedly took a 20% commission on all stolen tokens. The scam service was initially shut down by its developers in November 2023, but resurfaced in May 2024 with improved capabilities, new staff, and expanded support for 28 blockchains and hundreds of DeFi applications.

While the victim’s identity has yet to be confirmed, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has suggested that the hacked wallet is linked to a whale known as CZSamSun — notably different from Paradigm researcher and X-user @samczsun.

In a desperate attempt to recover the stolen altcoin funds, the victim’s wallet sent a message to the attacker offering a 20% reward for returning the assets. However, there was no response from the scammer in question.

Blockchain analytics firm LookOnChain has since issued a reminder on X, warning users: “To avoid being phished, please do not click on unknown links or sign unknown signatures. Always double-check when signing.”

However, a recent report revealed that while online hacking incidents are on the decline in the cryptocurrency world, physical cryptocurrency thefts are on the rise.

*This is not investment advice.