On January 10, 2026, around 11:00 PM (UTC), a major asset theft event shocked the cryptocurrency market. The victim was targeted through social engineering scams via hardware wallets, instantly losing over $282 million worth of Litecoin and Bitcoin. The flow of these huge assets subsequently triggered intense market fluctuations.

The stolen assets did not simply disappear after the theft but embarked on a "risky journey." The attacker quickly initiated a conversion plan, continuously exchanging the stolen Litecoin and Bitcoin for Monero across multiple instant exchanges. This operation directly impacted the Monero market, causing its price to surge and becoming the most notable abnormal fluctuation at that time.

More notably, the attacker also employed a cross-chain strategy—transferring Bitcoin to Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and other blockchains using bridging tools like Thorchain. This multi-chain dispersal appears to be preparing for further asset concealment and liquidity.

According to on-chain data, the stolen addresses involved a massive scale of 2.05 million Litecoin and 1,459 Bitcoin. The entire incident evolved from a successful social engineering scam into a complex asset transfer event involving multiple cryptocurrencies, multiple blockchains, and multiple exchanges. It also serves as a reminder to market participants: even hardware wallets are not absolutely secure against social engineering attacks.