A wallet associated with a notorious Coinbase hacker made headlines by adding nearly $19 million in Ether through a significant transaction, drawing the attention of analysts amid rising market activity.
Ties to Massive Scam
The wallet has been under close watch from analysts since earlier this year. It is reportedly connected to a social engineering scheme that defrauded Coinbase users of more than $300 million. Onchain investigator ZachXBT previously estimated in May that losses exceeded $330 million, though he warned that figure likely underestimates the true damage. "Our number is likely much lower than the actual amount stolen as our data was limited to my DMs and thefts we discovered onchain," he said at the time.
Previous High-Value Trades
This latest purchase adds to a growing list of major crypto acquisitions by the same wallet. In July, the account picked up 4,863 ETH valued at $12.5 million, followed by another 649 ETH worth $2.3 million at around $3,562 per token. Last month, the hacker also bought $8 million in Solana across multiple transactions, though the price has since dropped below the entry point.
Market Context and Trading Risks
The wallet’s aggressive strategy reflects growing confidence in ETH’s near-term outlook, despite recent volatility. The timing of the purchases, coinciding with price rallies, has drawn attention from traders tracking whale activity. Meanwhile, other traders are chasing high-risk, high-reward opportunities. One participant on the derivatives platform Hyperliquid reportedly turned a $125,000 deposit into a $303 million leveraged position on ETH, underscoring the scale of gains — and losses — possible in the fast-moving crypto market.
Thus, the recent operations of the Coinbase hacker's wallet highlight important trends in the cryptocurrency economy and the potential risks associated with large trades amid market volatility.
