Blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis has claimed that US authorities $30 million worth of cryptocurrency seized from North Korean hackers. The company’s chief investigator said, “This is the first time a cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized, and we believe it will not be the last.
Seizure $30 million in cryptocurrency tied to North Korea
Erin Plante, senior director of research at blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis, said Thursday that authorities seized millions of dollars at an Axiecon event.
“With the help of law enforcement and major organizations in the crypto industry,” she said:
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“This is the first time that a cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time,” the director stressed. .
“The seizure represents approximately 10% of the total funds stolen from Axie Infinity (considering the price difference between stolen time and seized time),” explained Plante. And Chainalysis has “tracked advanced stolen funds and redeemed points technology and worked with law enforcement and industry players to quickly freeze the funds.”
More than $600 million was stolen in March from Ronin Network, a sidechain built for play-to-earn game Axie Infinity. Chainalysis explained that North Korea-linked hacking elite Lazarus Group has now gained access to five of her nine private keys held by transaction validators on Ronin Network’s cross-chain bridge.
The hackers then initiated two withdrawal transactions for her. One was 173,600 Ether (ETH) and the other he was 25.5 million USD coin (USDC). The group laundered these funds using “more than 12,000 different crypto addresses so far.”
Stolen The ETH coin was mixed in batches using Tornado Cash, a popular mixing service, Chainalysis continued. However, following sanctions on Tornado Cash by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), “Lazarus Group has moved away from the popular Ethereum mixer and instead chain-hopped using defi [decentralized finance] services. or switched between several different services, allowing us to process different types of cryptocurrencies in a single transaction,” explains the blockchain data analytics company.
“One of the most troubling trends in cryptocrime today is his staggering rise in stolen funds from defi protocols, especially cross-chain bridges,” said the investigator. described in detail as
We estimate that by 2022, North Korean-linked groups have stolen approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency from defi protocols.
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