Venezuela-focused stablecoin neobank Kontigo has announced a security breach resulting in the theft of over $340,000 in USDC from customer wallets. The company has pledged to fully reimburse all affected users.
According to official updates on January 5, Kontigo detected unauthorized access that impacted the funds of some users. The firm immediately isolated the affected systems, activated security protocols, and launched an investigation. Approximately $340,905 worth of USDC was stolen, affecting 1,005 users.
Kontigo stated, "We immediately isolated the systems involved, activated our security protocols, and are maintaining an active investigation to determine the scope of the incident." The company's security team is working with independent external cybersecurity specialists to conduct a thorough review. "Kontigo will reimburse 100% of the impacted amounts," the neobank confirmed, adding that the restitution process is being handled on a case-by-case basis.
In response to the breach, the firm is operating under a "reinforced monitoring scheme" as systems are gradually brought back online to ensure operational integrity. The incident follows user reports on social media last week showing unauthorized attempts to access accounts.
Founded in 2023 and based in San Francisco, Kontigo targets the Latin American market and the Latino community in the U.S. It offers USDC-denominated savings accounts, cross-border payments, debit/credit cards, and access to tokenized U.S. stocks and Bitcoin. Backed by major investors including Y Combinator, DST Global, and Coinbase Ventures, the company closed a $20 million seed funding round last month, valuing it at $100 million.
This incident occurs amidst heightened security concerns in the crypto industry. Last month, Binance-owned Trust Wallet suffered an exploit estimated at over $7 million, and on January 5, SlowMist warned of a major phishing campaign targeting MetaMask users.
