‘Small possibility’ $8.6B Bitcoin transfer was a hack: Coinbase exec

The Coinbase executive says he is “speculating on straws,” but if it is true, it would be “by far the largest heist in human history.”

Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s head of product, says there’s a slight chance the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin moved on Thursday — from eight wallets that had held the Bitcoin for over 14 years — was caused by a hack, and if so, it could be the largest robbery ever.

“If true (again, I’m speculating on straws here), this would be by far the largest heist in human history,” Grogan said in an X post on Friday, after raising the slim chance that the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) moved from eight separate wallets was the work of bad actors.

“There is a small possibility that the $8B in BTC that recently woke up were hacked or compromised private keys,” Grogan said, pointing out a suspicious Bitcoin Cash (BCH) transaction made before the significant transfers on Thursday involving 10,000 Bitcoin at a time.