On‑chain investigator ZachXBT announced that a French cooperative banking group, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, appears to be the target of a large‑scale crypto theft that exceeded $133 million. The claim follows two days of tracking stablecoin withdrawals across several centralized exchanges. While the bank has not responded publicly, the investigation highlights a growing risk for traditional financial institutions that hold crypto assets.

Investigation timeline

ZachXBT first raised the alarm on November 2, noting that an unnamed EU entity had lost more than $106 million in USDC and USDT from multiple exchange accounts. A follow‑up alert on November 3 added a further $27 million in withdrawals, some of which occurred after the initial warning. In a later update, ZachXBT identified the affected institution as Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, a cooperative bank with roughly $235 billion in assets and a network of about 40 subsidiaries, including the online bank Fortuneo.

Fund flow and blockchain tracing

According to blockchain analytics firm Bitquery, $108.8 million worth of USDC was moved from accounts on Kraken, Crypto.com and OKX over a 21‑hour period on November 1‑2. Bitquery also reported that $62.98 million of the stablecoins were converted into 27,553 ETH within roughly four hours, suggesting rapid laundering attempts. The analyst noted that earlier in the year, issuers such as Tether and Circle froze about $2.9 billion after the Binance hack, covering roughly 45 % of those stolen funds. By contrast, the Arkéa incident appears to have escaped immediate freezing, prompting calls for EU law‑enforcement intervention.

Regulatory and industry response

ZachXBT warned that the lack of a formal incident disclosure may have allowed more than $30 million to be laundered away, funds that could have been frozen under EU regulations. Grayscale’s Head of Research, Zach Pandl, referenced the Binance hack as a catalyst for stronger security practices and emphasized the importance of institutional custody solutions, such as U.S.‑based crypto ETPs. BeInCrypto has reached out to Crédit Mutuel Arkéa for comment; a confirmation would add a regulated European bank to the growing list of 2026’s crypto theft victims.

What to watch next

Observers will be monitoring whether French or EU authorities initiate an investigation and attempt to recover the stolen assets. Additional blockchain analysis may reveal further conversion of the stolen stablecoins into other cryptocurrencies or fiat. Finally, the incident could prompt other European banks to reassess their crypto custody strategies and demand tighter security protocols from exchange partners.