StealthGate has successfully recovered over $5.4 million in digital assets frozen on the Changelly platform. This marks the first known recovery of its kind.
Case of Frozen Assets
A long-time user of Ledger Live conducted four USDT-to-BTC swaps using Changelly's integration in March 2025. Each transaction was correctly submitted, confirmed on-chain, and routed to the appropriate wallet. However, no Bitcoin was ever delivered, and the funds vanished without any response from support.
StealthGate's Recovery Efforts
With no remaining options, the user turned to StealthGate, an incident handling service operating under the SEAL 911 emergency response team via StealthShield. The team launched a focused investigation, combining technical analysis of blockchain data with platform-side escalation and routing tracebacks. Their audit identified where the swaps were blocked and who had control.
Significance of the Precedent for Crypto Ecosystem
Within weeks of StealthGate's involvement, the full $5.4 million was returned to the user's wallet. Changelly did not comment publicly or acknowledge fault, but the case was quietly closed. This recovery sets an important precedent, showing that high-value cases are not dead ends, and with the right support, frozen funds can be recovered.
This case serves as a clear example that high-value crypto assets can be recovered, providing hope to many users faced with similar situations.