According to on-chain analyst ZachXBT and data from Arkham, the perpetrators of the $290 million KelpDAO heist have initiated the process of laundering their illicitly obtained funds. On Tuesday, during European trading hours, the controlling wallet of the exploited funds executed two transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, totaling $117 million and $58 million. ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency has begun to be transferred across different blockchains, with approximately $1.5 million being bridged from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain, in addition to $78,000 being routed through the Umbra privacy protocol.
This cross-chain transfer and utilization of privacy tools are indicative of the initial 'layering' phase of money laundering, suggesting that the attacker is preparing to further distribute the funds across multiple platforms. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant decentralized finance hacks in recent months, prompting a wave of negative sentiment and concerns of potential contagion within the DeFi sector.
In response to the hack, Arbitrum, a layer 2 network, announced the freezing of $71 million in ether linked to the breach, a move that may pressure the exploiter to expedite the transfer and laundering of the remaining funds.