Attackers drained nearly $341,000 in USDC from over 1,000 user accounts at Kontigo, a fintech app focused on Venezuela and Latin America. The company quickly refunded all affected users but has not detailed the attack method. This incident follows the startup's loss of U.S. banking partners amid compliance issues and political instability in Venezuela.
Kontigo, a self-described financial super app operating in Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, experienced a cybertheft on or around January 6, 2026, when unauthorized actors accessed and drained 340,905.28 USDC from 1,005 user accounts. The company detected the breach and isolated affected systems while activating security protocols. In statements posted on X, Kontigo announced it had processed refunds covering 100% of the stolen amounts, though it did not specify the source of those funds, such as corporate reserves or insurance.
"We detected an unauthorized access that affected funds of some users," the company explained in Spanish, as translated. Kontigo has not revealed the specific method of the attack or whether customer personal data was compromised. It also remains unclear if the incident has been reported to financial regulators in the U.S. or elsewhere. The firm did not respond to inquiries from American Banker.
This theft exacerbates challenges for Kontigo, which markets digital dollar savings and cross-border payments to counter local inflation but lacks a banking charter. It relies on self-custodial wallets and third-party providers for fiat services. Just last month, on December 26, 2025, reports emerged that JPMorgan Chase had frozen accounts linked to Kontigo and similar stablecoin firms due to rising disputed transactions and compliance risks tied to Venezuela. Checkbook, a JPMorgan-backed payments provider that supplied virtual accounts to Kontigo, cited the need for better transaction verification and customer identity checks, according to its CEO, PJ Gupta.
Kontigo CEO Jesus Castillo countered these claims on X, stating the company "never had chargeback issues with Checkbook" and was abruptly cut off without notice.
The episode unfolds against a backdrop of geopolitical turmoil in Venezuela, Kontigo's main market. On January 3, 2026, U.S. military forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in a raid. He was arraigned in a New York federal court on Monday on drug trafficking charges and pleaded not guilty. Ongoing U.S. sanctions have long complicated operations for fintechs in the region, contributing to the compliance hurdles now facing Kontigo.
