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Crypto Hackers Capitalize on ETH Surge, Offloading $72M This Week
Three high-profile exploiters have taken advantage of ether’s rally to liquidate stolen funds, pocketing tens of millions in extra profits.
Updated Aug 15, 2025, 2:39 p.m. Published Aug 15, 2025, 2:13 p.m.
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What to know:
- Ethereum’s rally to $4,780 has significantly increased the value of stolen assets from three major exploits, enabling attackers to cash out tens of millions in additional gains.
- The Radiant Capital hacker gained $48.3 million over the initial $53 million theft, the Infini attacker added $25.15 million to their $49.5 million haul, and an unidentified hacker made $9.76 million by liquidating their stash this week.
- These cases underscore a brutal 18 month stretch for crypto security, with $3.1 billion lost to hackers in the first half of 2025 and $1.49 billion stolen in 2024.
Ether's recent rally to $4,780 has delivered a wealth of profits to several high-profile hackers, who have capitalized on the surge by offloading their ill-gotten gains.
In three separate case, on-chain data, revealed by X account EmberCN, shows hackers strategically liquidated their ETH holdings for tens of millions in profit.
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The Radiant Capital exploiter, who the protocol alleges is a North Korean entity, drained around $53 million in assets from the DeFi protocol last October. They converted much of their haul into 21,957 ETH at roughly $2,414 per coin, only to sell 9,631 ETH for $44 million worth of stablecoins this week.
They still control 12,326 ETH alongside the stablecoin proceeds, for a combined $101 million, around $48.3 million more than the value of the original stolen assets.
A similar playbook emerged from the Infini exploit in February. That attacker siphoned $49.5 million in USDC and bought 17,696 ETH at $2,798 each.
While laundering 5,000 ETH through Tornado Cash, they also sold 3,540 ETH for $13 million worth of stablecoins at an average $3,762. The ETH rally has swelled the value of their remaining stash, netting an extra $25.15 million on top of the initial theft.
The third case was an unidentified exploiter who stole 17,412 ETH from THORChain and Chainflip in March sold those holdings for $33.9 million DAI at $1,947.
In June, they re-entered the market, buying 4,957 ETH at $2,495 before selling them early Friday for $22.13 million worth of stablecoins at $4,464, profiting $9.76 million in the process.
The three hacks all played part in a rampant 18 months for hackers, with investors losing $3.1 billion in in the first half of 2025 and $1.49 billion in 2024.
