On September 23, 2023, the cryptocurrency project Mixin Network suffered a serious security incident. The project claimed to be a decentralized cross-chain transfer network, but its cloud database was compromised, resulting in the theft of a large amount of assets from the mainnet. According to on-chain tracking and official statistics at the time, the hackers stole approximately $200 million in assets, primarily including 59,854 ETH, 891 BTC, and some stablecoins such as USDT.
Hackers, who had been dormant for two years, have recently become active again.
For two years after the incident, the hacker's wallet remained virtually silent, causing the market to gradually forget about the massive theft. However, according to tracking information released by on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain on February 13, 2026, the "Mixin hacker" appears to have ended his dormant period and begun gradually selling off his ETH holdings.
Lookonchain points out that the hacker currently holds 59,854 ETH and 891 BTC. Approximately 15 hours ago, the hacker transferred 2,005 ETH to the well-known mixer Tornado Cash to obfuscate the source of the funds. Subsequently, three newly appearing wallets received a total of 2,087 ETH from Tornado Cash and quickly sold them when the ETH price was around $1,933.
The crypto community believes this indicates the hackers are employing a strategy of "small, phased, money-laundering-before-sell" to avoid triggering significant market volatility with a single large-scale sell-off. The hackers currently hold approximately 57,849 ETH and 891 intact BTC that remain untouched.
Market Impact and Implications
While limited in scale, this action has already drawn attention from the crypto community, as the remaining assets are still worth hundreds of millions of dollars. If the hackers continue to unload their holdings, it could put pressure on the price of ETH, especially during periods of market volatility. This case also serves as a reminder to investors that crypto asset security is always a top priority, and decentralized projects still need to strengthen their infrastructure protection.
