ZachXBT Uncovers Coinbase Commerce Theft and AML Failures | Airdrop Alert Pro

ZachXBT recently discovered that a vendor on Coinbase Commerce suffered a $15.9 million theft. Coinbase’s AML detected no suspicious activity, and it is unclear how the attack occurred.

Some on-chain data and other clues from the criminal’s social media bragging may help reveal his identity, but the investigation is ongoing. So far, the victim has not come forward, complicating the search.

ZachXBT Discovers Coinbase Commercial Theft

ZachXBT, the famous cryptocurrency detectiverevealed the progress of the investigation via social media Post. Zach claims that the initial theft occurred on April 21, when more than 1,700 suspected USDC outflows occurred.

The culprit quickly moved the stolen USDC worth more than $15.9 million to Polygon and then to Ethereum. Later, it was split into three wallets, most of which remain dormant.

The criminal kept his true identity secret, but still began purchasing luxury goods under the username “Excite.” His face is partially identifiable in some photos, and metadata suggests he may be in Denmark.

ZachXBT says he may be able to identify Excite’s real name, but he still has an important question: How did this person do it? Breaching Coinbase’s security?

“While the identity of the victim in this case remains unknown, there are clearly strong leads that could lead to holding this threat actor legally accountable. Since the funds were split into three parts, I anticipate that others may be involved. One I would like to ask The question is why Coinbase’s AML monitoring did not flag this suspicious activity within 16 hours,” he point out.

Interestingly, Coinbase has a poor history of anti-money laundering monitoring. last year, It received a $50 million fine Violation of compliance laws. Commenters under Zack’s post complained that the company has been Overzealous in restricting law-abiding accountsbut this major crime completely escaped detection.

Last month, ZachXBT Investigating another scammer posing as Coinbase support. In early February, Coinbase Commerce removed Bitcoin payments due to “operational impediments.” But clearly, the platform needs to address underlying issues.

Unfortunately, the victim has yet to come forward, so we know very little other than their identity as a Coinbase Commerce vendor. The ongoing investigation is expected to reveal more information.