A group of hackers has unlawfully accessed the service provider for the Central Bank of Brazil and is now laundering part of its $140 million in stolen funds using cryptocurrencies, according to on-chain analyst ZachXBT.
The researcher disclosed on Friday that between $30 million and $40 million of the stolen assets was converted into bitcoin, ether, and Tether’s USDT through over-the-counter desks and crypto exchanges in Latin America.
The June 30 cyberattack on C&M Software involved attackers bribing an employee to reveal their corporate credentials. Six financial institutions, including BMP, experienced unauthorized access to their reserve accounts as a result.
This strategy mirrors a recent breach of the Coinbase exchange, where around 69,000 customers were affected after customer service agents were bribed into disclosing sensitive information.
Previously, Brazil was becoming more receptive to cryptocurrencies; lawmakers even proposed a bill allowing investment funds to explore digital assets.
While the Central Bank of Brazil attack dealt with fiat currency, the use of cryptocurrency to hide and launder the funds illustrates a troubling aspect of the industry regarding hacks and fraud. A recent report by crypto security firm CertiK indicated that crypto investors lost $2.5 billion to hacks and scams in the first half of 2025.
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