CoinTalk

Unlike traditional hacks that exploit smart contracts or exchange vulnerabilities, this attack succeeded through deception alone. The victim was reportedly convinced they were communicating with official Trezor support, only to unknowingly hand over the one piece of information that should never be shared: their hardware wallet seed phrase.

Within minutes, years of accumulated wealth were no longer under the victim’s control.

How the Attack Unfolded

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the theft took place around 11:00 pm UTC. The attacker, impersonating a legitimate Trezor representative, manipulated the victim into revealing the recovery phrase associated with their hardware wallet. Once the seed phrase was exposed, the attacker gained complete and irreversible control over the wallet.

There was no exploit to patch, no password to reset, and no transaction to reverse. On-chain ownership changed hands instantly, and the funds were gone.

What followed was a rapid and highly coordinated laundering operation designed to erase any trace of the stolen assets.

Breaking Down the Stolen Assets

The scale of the theft stunned even seasoned blockchain analysts. The wallet contained approximately 1,459 Bitcoin, valued at around $139 million, alongside a massive 2.05 million Litecoin, worth roughly $153 million at the time of the attack.

Almost immediately, the attacker began dispersing the funds across multiple networks, fragmenting the transaction trail and complicating any recovery attempts. Large portions of the stolen crypto were converted using instant exchange services, while others were bridged across different blockchains to further obscure the source.

Monero Surge Raises Red Flags

A significant portion of the stolen assets was swapped into Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency known for its untraceable transactions. This sudden influx of capital caused a noticeable spike in Monero’s price, drawing attention from traders and analysts who quickly suspected illicit activity.

The use of Monero was no coincidence. By converting Bitcoin and Litecoin into a privacy coin, the attacker dramatically reduced the effectiveness of blockchain tracking tools, making it far more difficult for investigators to follow the money.

THORChain and the Cross-Chain Controversy

In parallel with the Monero conversions, the attacker used THORChain to bridge large amounts of Bitcoin across networks such as Ethereum, XRP, and Litecoin. This strategy allowed value to move seamlessly between blockchains without relying on centralized exchanges, avoiding traditional compliance checks and account freezes.

The incident reignited a heated debate within the crypto community. Critics argued that decentralized cross-chain protocols are increasingly being exploited as laundering tools during large-scale thefts, while defenders countered that open infrastructure should not be blamed for criminal misuse.

Regardless of where one stands, this attack demonstrated how powerful and dangerous cross-chain liquidity can be in the wrong hands.

A Small Win Amid a Massive Loss

Despite the speed and complexity of the laundering process, not all hope was lost. Cybersecurity firm ZeroShadow revealed that blockchain monitoring teams managed to track part of the stolen funds in real time. Within approximately 20 minutes, around $700,000 worth of assets were flagged and frozen before they could be fully converted into privacy coins.

While this represents only a fraction of the total loss, it proved that rapid coordination between analytics firms and platforms can still make a difference, even in fast-moving attacks of this magnitude.

Clearing the Air on State-Sponsored Claims

As rumors spread across social media, some speculated that the theft might be linked to a state-sponsored hacking group, particularly North Korea, which has been associated with several high-profile crypto crimes in the past.

ZachXBT was quick to dismiss these claims.  It’s not North Korea,  he stated plainly, emphasizing that the attack bore all the hallmarks of a classic social engineering scam rather than a geopolitical cyber operation.

Not an Isolated Incident

This $282 million loss is not an anomaly. Just one year earlier, an elderly Bitcoin holder in the United States reportedly lost $330 million in another social engineering scam. That victim had quietly held more than 3,000 BTC since 2017, with minimal activity, making the sudden movement of funds immediately suspicious.

In that case, the attacker used peel chains and instant exchanges before converting much of the stolen Bitcoin into Monero, following a pattern eerily similar to the 2026 heist.

The Real Lesson: Security Is Human

These incidents underscore a harsh truth about crypto security. Hardware wallets, cold storage, and decentralized networks can be nearly unbreakable from a technical standpoint, but none of them can protect users from manipulation, impersonation, and misplaced trust.

No legitimate wallet provider will ever ask for a seed phrase. Once it is shared, ownership is effectively transferred, and recovery becomes almost impossible.

As crypto adoption grows and individual wallets hold increasingly life-changing sums, social engineering is emerging as the most dangerous attack vector in the industry. The code may be secure, but the human element remains vulnerable.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned investor, BYDFi gives you the tools to trade with confidence — low fees, fast execution, copy trading for newcomers, and access to hundreds of digital assets in a secure, user-friendly environment

Imagine beginning with a platform like Coinbase. After creating and verifying your account, you fund it with either cryptocurrency or traditional money. The real magic happens when you choose a coin built for staking—like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, or Toncoin. With a few more clicks, you commit your chosen amount. Your assets are then securely locked, beginning their journey of earning rewards. When you’re ready to access them again, a simple  unstake  initiates the process, though it often requires a short waiting period—a small trade-off for the yields earned.

For those craving more autonomy and choice, the advanced path leads to Web3 wallets and direct interaction with decentralized protocols, opening a vast landscape of staking opportunities.

Beyond Basic Staking: The Rise of Liquid and Restaking

The innovation in this space moves rapidly. Acknowledging the liquidity challenge of locked assets, the industry created liquid staking. This lets you stake your crypto and receive a tradable token in return, freeing your capital to explore other ventures within Web3 without sacrificing your staking position.

Then comes the cutting-edge concept of restaking. Pioneered by platforms like EigenLayer, this strategy supercharges your earnings. It allows you to take assets already staked on a primary network (like Ethereum) and redeploy them to secure additional protocols, layering rewards upon rewards. It’s a powerful tool for maximized yield, though it introduces a more complex risk profile that demands careful consideration.

Why Stakers Are Flocking to Proof-of-Stake

The吸引力 is clear and compelling. Staking transforms your portfolio from static to dynamic, generating consistent returns that often range from 4% to 20% annually. You’re not just earning; you’re becoming an integral part of the blockchain’s security infrastructure. This journey is accessible to anyone, removing the high financial and technical barriers of traditional mining. For many, it also unlocks a voice, granting governance voting rights that shape the future of protocols. All this happens while your underlying assets retain their potential for capital appreciation—a powerful combination of income and growth.

Navigating the Staking Landscape: A Clear-Eyed View of Risks

The promise of passive income is powerful, but a wise investor enters with eyes wide open. The decentralized frontier is not without its perils.

Your assets interact with smart contracts; vulnerabilities in their code can be exploited. The rules of the game can change through protocol governance, sometimes to a staker’s detriment. Validators face slashing penalties for misbehavior, which can impact those delegating to them. The darker corners of DeFi harbor risks of exit scams and rug pulls, where projects vanish with user funds.

For those providing liquidity in pools, impermanent loss is a key concept—a temporary reduction in value compared to simply holding assets, caused by market volatility. Finally, the liquidity lockup inherent in most staking means your assets are committed for a set period, limiting your ability to pivot quickly in fast-moving markets.

The Final Verdict

DeFi staking represents a fundamental shift in how we interact with digital assets, turning them into active, productive tools. It democratizes network participation and opens a reliable stream of crypto-denominated yield. For the beginner, starting with a trusted platform offers a safe on-ramp. As confidence grows, the expansive world of decentralized protocols awaits.

The path forward is to balance the undeniable benefits with a respectful understanding of the risks. With knowledge as your guide, you can transform your idle crypto into a vibrant source of passive income, securing the networks of tomorrow while building your financial future today.

As the crypto market continues to evolve, platforms like BYDFi also provide retail and professional traders with complementary access to a wide range of digital assets. While KBC focuses on a bank-backed, regulated experience, BYDFi offers flexibility and advanced trading features, catering to those who wish to explore broader crypto strategies or access international markets.

Looking Ahead

KBC Bank’s move to integrate Bitcoin and Ether trading under a MiCA-compliant framework represents a milestone for crypto adoption in Belgium. By combining regulation, custodial security, and user-friendly access, the bank sets a precedent for how traditional financial institutions can bridge the gap between conventional banking and digital assets.

As Belgium’s crypto ecosystem develops under MiCA, the rollout of KBC’s platform will likely influence other banks and financial institutions to explore similar regulated crypto offerings. For investors, the message is clear: digital assets are moving from niche experimentation to mainstream financial services, and access through trusted institutions is becoming increasingly feasible.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Do all exchanges have different maker and taker fees?
A: Most professional exchanges do. Some simple "swap" apps charge a flat spread, which is usually much more expensive than paying even the highest Taker fee on a pro exchange.

Q: Why do exchanges want Makers?
A: High liquidity attracts big traders. Exchanges incentivize Makers because a thick order book means less slippage, which brings in more institutional volume.

Q: How do I know if I was a Maker or Taker?
A: Check your trade history. Most platforms will explicitly tag each filled order as "Maker" or "Taker" and show the specific fee paid.

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It feels random to the outsider. Sometimes it seems like exchanges just pick names out of a hat, or worse, that they only list tokens that pay millions in bribes. While the industry has its dark corners, the reality of how major platforms like Coinbase, Binance, and BYDFi select tokens is actually a rigorous, high-stakes game of risk management and detective work.

The Gatekeepers of the Digital Economy

To understand the listing process, you have to empathize with the exchange. Think about their position for a second. Their reputation is their entire business model. If they list a token today and that token "rug pulls" (steals everyone's money) tomorrow, the exchange takes the blame. Users get angry, regulators start knocking on doors, and the brand takes a massive hit.

Because of this, listing teams act like the Secret Service. Their job isn't to find the token that will go up the most; their job is to filter out the tokens that will blow up the platform.

The first hurdle is always security. Before a project even gets a meeting, the exchange’s security team or third-party auditors will tear the project’s code apart. They are looking for "backdoors"—hidden lines of code that would allow the developers to mint infinite tokens or drain user wallets. If the smart contract hasn't been audited by a reputable firm, the application usually goes straight into the trash. It doesn't matter how cool the website looks or how many influencers are shilling it; if the code is sloppy, the door stays shut.

The People Behind the Screen

Let’s say the code is clean. The next step is even harder: vetting the humans.

In the early days of crypto, anonymous teams were the norm. Bitcoin’s creator is anonymous, after all. But in 2025, centralized exchanges are under immense pressure to know exactly who they are doing business with. They want to know if the CEO has a history of fraud. They want to know if the CTO actually knows how to code or if they just hired a freelancer on the cheap.

This is where many "hype" projects fail. A meme coin might have a market cap of $500 million, but if the team consists of three anonymous teenagers who refuse to jump on a video call, a compliant exchange like Coinbase or a professional platform like BYDFi is likely to pass. They need accountability. They need to know that if things go south, there is someone to call. This is why you often see "boring" infrastructure projects get listed faster than exciting meme coins; the boring projects usually have doxxed, professional teams with a track record.

The Lifeblood of Liquidity

However, safety isn't the only metric. Exchanges are businesses, and businesses need to make money. How do exchanges make money? Trading fees.

This brings us to the most brutal truth of the listing process: volume is king. A project might have the most revolutionary technology in the world, capable of solving global hunger and curing diseases, but if nobody is trading it, the exchange has no incentive to list it.

Exchanges look for "community strength." But they aren't looking for bot followers on Twitter or fake members in a Telegram group. They are looking for genuine, organic engagement. Are real people discussing the project? Is there a vibrant developer ecosystem?

This is why you will sometimes see a platform list a seemingly "silly" token like Pepe or Bonk while ignoring a serious "scientific" token. The silly token has hundreds of thousands of holders trading it back and forth every second. That activity generates revenue. Platforms like BYDFi excel at identifying these high-demand assets early, offering Spot trading pairs for trending tokens so that users don't have to struggle with complex decentralized exchanges to get in on the action.

The Regulatory Minefield

There is another invisible hand guiding these decisions: the law.

Different exchanges operate in different jurisdictions, and this dictates what they can touch. For example, "Privacy Coins" like Monero or Zcash offer incredible technology that masks transaction history. While this is true to the ethos of crypto, it is a nightmare for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. Many exchanges have had to delist these tokens simply because regulators told them it was impossible to track the funds.

Similarly, there is the fear of the "Security" label. In the United States, if a token is deemed a security (like a stock), the exchange needs a special license to trade it. This is why Coinbase is famously conservative, often waiting months or years to list tokens that are already trading freely on offshore platforms. They have to run every asset through a "Legal Framework" to ensure they won't get sued by the SEC the day after the listing goes live.

The BYDFi Advantage

This regulatory maze creates a fragmented market. Some exchanges are too slow, paralyzed by red tape. Others are too reckless, listing scams that hurt users.

This is where agile platforms like BYDFi find their niche. They strive to strike a balance between speed and safety. By monitoring on-chain data and community sentiment, they can often list promising tokens faster than the giants, giving traders a chance to enter positions before the "Coinbase Pump" happens.

They also offer features like Quick Buy, which allows users to snap up these new assets with a credit card instantly, removing the friction of waiting for bank transfers. This speed is critical because in the world of exchange listings, being a few days early can be the difference between a 10x return and buying the top.

The Walk of Shame: Delisting

The story doesn't end with the listing. The listing is just the beginning of the relationship. If a project stops delivering, the exchange can and will break up with them.

We have all seen the dreaded "Delisting Announcement." This usually happens for one of three reasons. First, the trading volume drops so low that it costs the exchange more to support the wallet than they make in fees. Second, the team abandons the project or stops communicating. Third, and most dramatically, the project gets hacked or exposed as a fraud.

When a token gets delisted, it is usually a death sentence for the price. Liquidity evaporates, and holders are left rushing for the exit door. This is why the initial selection process is so vital; it protects users from eventually holding a "zombie token" that cannot be sold anywhere.

Conclusion

The next time you see a new token appear on your trading app, take a moment to appreciate the gauntlet it survived to get there. It had to pass security audits, background checks, legal reviews, and liquidity tests.

It is a ruthless selection process, but it is necessary to build a mature financial system. Whether you are hunting for the next hidden gem or sticking to the blue chips, ensure you are trading on a platform that takes this responsibility seriously. Register at BYDFi today to explore a curated selection of top-tier digital assets and trade with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Do projects pay to get listed on exchanges?
A: It is an open secret that some exchanges charge "listing fees," which can range from thousands to millions of dollars. However, top-tier exchanges often claim they do not charge fees but require the project to provide liquidity or marketing commitments.

Q: Why does the price pump when a token is listed?
A: This is known as the "Listing Effect." It occurs because the token is suddenly exposed to millions of new potential buyers who couldn't access it before, creating a massive spike in demand.

Q: How can I find out about listings before they happen?
A: It is difficult, as insider trading is strictly monitored. However, monitoring a project's Discord or watching for on-chain transfers to exchange wallets (using tools like Whale Alert) can sometimes give a clue.