An important event has occurred in the cryptocurrency world: StealthGate has successfully recovered over $5.4 million frozen on Changelly. This marks the first known instance of recovering such a high amount, opening new avenues for victims of blocked swaps.
Case Background
The victim, a long-time user of Ledger Live, initiated four separate USDT-to-BTC swaps in March 2025 using Changelly's built-in integration. Each transaction was correctly submitted and confirmed on-chain, yet no Bitcoin was ever delivered, resulting in the disappearance of funds.
Response from Changelly and StealthGate
Over the next two months, the victim followed all official procedures: submitting tickets, completing KYC, and providing proof of fund origin. After receiving no results, they turned to StealthGate, an incident handling service. The StealthGate team conducted an audit of blockchain data and identified where the swaps were blocked. Within weeks, the full $5.4 million was returned to the user's wallet. Changelly did not publicly comment on the situation.
Significance of this Precedent
This case sets an important precedent within the crypto ecosystem, demonstrating that high-value cases are not dead ends. As similar complaints arise, successful recovery of funds becomes possible with adequate support.
The successful recovery of the victim's funds on Changelly highlights the importance of support and action from specialized services in cases of asset blocking, providing hope to many affected individuals.
