According to on-chain analyst ZachXBT and data from Arkham, the perpetrators of the $290 million KelpDAO heist have initiated the laundering process of their illicitly obtained funds. On Tuesday, during European hours, the wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds made two significant transfers on the Ethereum blockchain, totaling $117 million and $58 million. ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency is being moved across different chains, with approximately $1.5 million being transferred from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain, and an additional $78,000 routed through the Umbra privacy protocol.
Notably, North Korean hacking group Lazarus has previously utilized protocols like Thorchain for laundering purposes. The use of cross-chain routing and privacy tools at this stage suggests that the attacker is likely preparing to further distribute the funds across multiple platforms.
The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, sparking widespread negative sentiment and fears of contagion spreading to other blockchains. In response to the hack, Layer 2 network Arbitrum froze $71 million in ether linked to the breach, potentially pressuring the exploiter to expedite the movement and laundering of the remaining funds.