The American crypto firm Nomad was hit by a theft of 190 million dollars

Representations of cryptocurrencies in this illustration taken January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) – U.S. crypto firm Nomad has been hit by a $190 million theft, blockchain researchers said on Tuesday, the latest heist to hit the digital asset sector this year.

Nomad said in a tweet that it was “aware of the incident” and was currently investigating, without providing further details or the value of the theft.

Crypto analytics firm PeckShield told Reuters that $190 million in users’ cryptocurrencies were stolen, including ether and stablecoin USDC. Other blockchain researchers estimate the figure at over $150 million.

San Francisco-based Nomad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company has notified law enforcement and is working with blockchain investigative firms to try to identify the accounts involved and recover the money, it said in a statement to crypto news outlet CoinDesk.

Nomad, which last week raised $22 million from investors including major U.S. exchange Coinbase Global ( COIN.O ), makes software that connects different blockchains — the digital ledgers that underpin most cryptocurrencies.

The heist targeted Nomad’s “bridge” – a tool that allows users to transfer tokens between blockchains.

Blockchain bridges have increasingly become the target of theft, which has long plagued the crypto sector. Over $1 billion has been stolen from bridges so far in 2022, according to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. read more

In June, US crypto firm Harmony said thieves stole about $100 million worth of tokens from its Horizon bridge product. read more

In March, hackers stole $615 million worth of cryptocurrency from Ronin Bridge, used to transfer crypto in and out of the game Axie Infinity. The US linked North Korean hackers to the theft. read more

Nomad described itself as a “security-first” business that would keep users’ funds safe.

PeckShield said a small portion of the coins were moved to a so-called “mixer,” which masks the trail of crypto transactions, while about $95 million was kept in three other wallets.

Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; editing by Tom Wilson and Christina Fincher

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