According to analytics firm Elliptic, the hackers who targeted Binance converted around $175 million in stolen altcoins into nearly 2,300 bitcoin, across 16 blockchain networks, more than 20,000 wallets, and 65,000 transactions.

Elliptic had estimated the amount transferred at around $124 million just one day earlier — meaning transfers nearly doubled in 24 hours.

🔍 Analysis:
The goal is clear: shift to assets that cannot be frozen. Stablecoins like USDT can be frozen instantly by their issuer, and that’s exactly what happened—around ∗∗$2.85 billion∗∗ of the $6.4 billion stolen was frozen or seized [citation:9]. That’s why hackers turn to USDT, which its issuer can freeze instantly, and that’s exactly what happened—around ∗∗$2.85 billion∗∗ of the $6.4 billion stolen was frozen or seized [citation:9]. That’s why hackers turn to BTC, which has no issuer or freeze button, and has deep liquidity everywhere.

The observed route: SOL and XRP and $TRX → conversion via THORChain → Bitcoin in new addresses. Mixing services such as Wasabi were also used to launder around 88 BTC.

📌 The implications (what matters to you):
1️⃣ The main Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings haven’t moved yet — more than 18,300 BTC and 584,000 ETH remain dormant. Their movement would signal the start of a new laundering phase.
2️⃣ The real risk lies in the cash-out phase — converting to Bitcoin doesn’t mean getting liquidity. The next step is going through exchanges or OTC brokers, and that’s where there’s an opportunity to intervene.
3️⃣ Practical takeaway: Monitor movements from large addresses linked to the hack. Any sudden transfer of BTC or ETH to an exchange could precede selling pressure or regulatory action.

💬 Your question: Do you think switching to Bitcoin really makes recovering the funds impossible? Or is the cash-out phase the real weak point?

👇 Share your thoughts in the comments

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