- 1. Europol recovered $120 million USD in stolen crypto on April 14, 2026.
- 2. Teams arrested 45 suspects across 12 countries.
- 3. Bitcoin surged 5.3% to $74,665 USD.
Europol led a crypto theft operation on April 14, 2026. The effort recovered $120 million USD in stolen cryptocurrency. Police arrested 45 suspects across 12 countries. Bitcoin rose 5.3% to $74,665 USD.
Europol and FBI Dismantle 20 International Theft Schemes
Europol teamed up with the FBI. Agencies from 12 countries joined them. They shut down 20 theft schemes in an international cyber operation. Criminal groups stole over $250 million USD in cryptocurrency since January 2026.
The Europol announcement explains the scams. Scammers used fake investment sites. They sent phishing emails to trick users.
Agents raided homes and offices. Targets sat in Europe, North America, and Asia. Catherine de Bolle serves as Europol's Executive Director. She said the raids disrupted money laundering networks. "We protected digital finance from sophisticated thieves," she stated.
Laundering networks clean stolen crypto. Thieves spend the cleaned funds without detection.
Crypto exchanges shared transaction data. Blockchain analytics firms like Chainalysis traced 80% of the funds. They linked the money back to victims. Thieves used mixers. These services blend stolen coins with clean ones. The mixers hide trails. New tracing tools bypassed them.
Recovered Funds Include 1,600 BTC and Other Major Assets
Investigators recovered cryptocurrency worth $120 million USD. The haul held 1,600 Bitcoin (BTC) tokens. BTC totaled $119.5 million USD. Teams seized 10,000 Ethereum (ETH) tokens. ETH reached $23.8 million USD in related wallets. They also took USDT stablecoins. USDT pegs to $1.00 USD each.
Chainalysis data shows recovered crypto funds rose 15% from last year. Kim Grauer leads research at Chainalysis. She said, "Analytics tech traced $120 million USD to hackers' addresses."
Courts now order platforms to return funds to victims. Binance and Coinbase cooperated fully. Europol reported a 48% recovery rate on targeted thefts. Victims can reclaim their money.
AI-powered forensics scanned 500,000 transactions. The tools spotted laundering patterns faster than humans.
Bitcoin Surges 5.3% as News Boosts Investor Confidence
Bitcoin climbed 5.3% to $74,665 USD on April 14, 2026. Ethereum jumped 8.4% to $2,379.94 USD. CoinMarketCap tracked the gains.
XRP rose 3.1% to $1.37 USD. BNB gained 2.8% to $614.91 USD. Trading volume spiked 25% on major exchanges. Glassnode data showed $2.1 billion USD in institutional inflows.
The Fear & Greed Index held at 21. This gauge measures market sentiment. It runs from 0 for extreme fear to 100 for extreme greed. SecurityWeek coverage noted lower hack risks. DeFi platforms locked $150 billion USD in total value.
Positive news eased fears of future thefts. Investors bought in. Prices rose. Crypto holders benefited.
Experts Praise Gains in Finance Security
Tom Robinson co-founded Elliptic. He said, "Operations like this cut thefts by 30% in targeted areas." Elliptic's tools detected 60% of the schemes early. Blockchain analytics now support finance security.
JPMorgan adopted similar tools for client wallets. EU regulators require tracing in new rules. Chainalysis noted a 22% drop in crypto hacks this year.
North Korean hacking groups lost key funding. The US Treasury sanctioned three linked wallet addresses. This action weakens state-sponsored threats to crypto.
Tech Tools Drive Quick Wins in Crypto Raids
Teams deployed endpoint detection software. They checked 1,200 devices. The software monitors computers for malware in real time. Machine learning models predicted laundering paths. Accuracy hit 92%.
Blockchain explorers like Etherscan confirmed recoveries. Crypto firms invested $500 million USD in security last quarter. Fireblocks and Copper reported zero breaches.
These advances make theft harder. They speed up recovery. Investors gain stronger protections.
Operation Sets Model for Future Crypto Security
This crypto theft operation boosts crypto market confidence. Interpol plans quarterly raids. The FBI targets more US-based suspects next.
Exchanges added biometric KYC checks. These use fingerprints or face scans for identity verification. Retail investor trust rose 12% in polls. Security startups raised $1.2 billion USD in funding.
Bitcoin holds above $74,000 USD. Ethereum targets $2,500 USD. Europol trains 2,000 officers on crypto forensics this year.
