Key Notes
- The hacker bought 3,976 ETH value $18.9M on Sept 13 however bought at a $932K loss two days later throughout market decline.
- Decentralized exchanges like CoW Protocol allow unrestricted buying and selling as they function on censorship-resistant blockchain networks.
- Ethereum presently checks essential $4,505 assist ranges forward of the Federal Reserve’s rate of interest determination on September 17.
An account reportedly related to a black hat particular person or group concerned in a large information breach in Could 2025—now referred to as “the Coinbase hacker”—has been actively buying and selling cryptocurrencies, monitored by on-chain analysts. This account’s most up-to-date exercise might have resulted in practically $1 million in losses amid a capitulation occasion buying and selling Ethereum
ETH
$4 522
24h volatility:
1.3%
Market cap:
$546.04 B
Vol. 24h:
$26.57 B
.
The breach from Could enabled attackers to trick customers into transferring funds, leading to losses estimated between $180 million and $400 million, in line with a number of sources, including CoinDesk.
ZachXBT, a famend on-chain sleuth, has actively posted in regards to the occasion on his X account, along with analytics platforms like Arkham Intelligence, which used AI to hint, hyperlink, and label completely different account addresses to the “Coinbase hacker,” together with the handle 0x15f4c13E0cA461e0ef23F6d35Bbeb5dCE2495879 referenced on this most up-to-date report by Lookonchain.
In keeping with the analyst, the handle bought 3,976 ETH, value $18.9 million at $4,756 per token on Sept. 13, as reported by Coinspeaker. Two days later, nonetheless, on Sept. 15, the alleged “Coinbase hacker” bought this complete stack at a loss for $4,522 per ETH, or $17.98 million complete—leading to a internet adverse of roughly $932,000.
Within the feedback, one individual requested, “Why is a ‘hacker’ allowed to do buying and selling freely,” questioning the dearth of sanctions utilized to what’s claimed to be a identified hacker, fueling skepticism of the label utilized by Lookonchain’s analyst.
Byt why a “hacker” is allowed to do buying and selling freely, if he’s a “hacker” and you’re positive he “is”
— Nabaz (@nabaz120211) September 15, 2025
Why Is a “Hacker” Capable of Commerce Freely?
Whereas there isn’t any direct response within the thread on X, the reply is straightforward: The handle is limiting its actions to decentralized currencies, like ETH and DAI, on decentralized exchanges, like CoW Protocol. These techniques are constructed, amongst different issues, on the premise of being censorship-resistant, which brings many advantages but in addition has apparent trade-offs, like not with the ability to apply sanctions to those addresses.
CoW Protocol, often known as CoW Swap, is an intent-based buying and selling protocol much like NEAR Intents that just lately added assist to Aptos, as Coinspeaker reported. The protocol permits customers to delegate commerce execution to “solvers”—aggressive algorithms or entities that discover and execute the optimum change charges throughout numerous liquidity sources.
Due to this fact, the one technique to stop alleged Coinbase hackers from buying and selling is that if the cash reaches centralized techniques or fiat off-ramps. The identical logic would apply, for instance, to peaceable folks struggling political persecution or fleeing from a rustic in conflict or beneath a tyrannical regime.
So far as the decentralized finance atmosphere is worried, “code is legislation.” The best way to struggle such instances is prevention—by writing strong and safe techniques that can not be breached or are constructed on prime of privateness options that guarantee that, even when a breach happens, there may be nothing of worth there for use by the attackers. It’s not by likelihood that Google searches for “privacy coins” have been rising over time, highlighting a rising curiosity within the safety they provide to customers.
Ethereum (ETH) Worth Evaluation
As of this writing, ETH is buying and selling at $4,505 per token, 0.37% decrease than the “Coinbase hacker” capitulation level. Notably, Ethereum’s native token is testing a 30-day value assist at these ranges, which might work as a launchpad for an upward motion if the crypto market turns bullish this week following the upcoming Fed’s interest rate decision on Sept. 17—in two days.
ETH each day (1D) value chart towards the greenback | Supply: TradingView
Dropping this assist might ship the value decrease, doubtlessly testing the 50-day exponential transferring common, an vital technical indicator for cryptocurrencies. ETH has been buying and selling above this indicator for the previous 4 months, since a big breakout in Could 2025, across the identical time because the hacker was recognized accumulating stolen funds from its victims.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is dedicated to offering unbiased and clear reporting. This text goals to ship correct and well timed data however shouldn’t be taken as monetary or funding recommendation. Since market circumstances can change quickly, we encourage you to confirm data by yourself and seek the advice of with an expert earlier than making any choices based mostly on this content material.
Vini Barbosa has lined the crypto business professionally since 2020, summing as much as over 10,000 hours of analysis, writing, and modifying associated content material for media retailers and key business gamers. Vini is an energetic commentator and a heavy person of the know-how, really believing in its revolutionary potential. Subjects of curiosity embrace blockchain, open-source software program, decentralized finance, and real-world utility.
