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 illicit proceeds. Arkham's data reveals that the wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds executed two significant transactions, valued at $117 million and $58 million, on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. Furthermore, ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen funds is being transferred across different chains, with approximately $1.5 million being bridged from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain, and an additional $78,000 routed through the Umbra privacy protocol. The use of cross-chain routing and privacy tools is a common practice in the initial 'layering' stage of money laundering, indicating that the attacker may be preparing to further disperse the funds across multiple platforms.
The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant decentralized finance attacks in recent months, triggering a wave of negative sentiment across the DeFi sector and raising concerns about potential contagion. In response to the hack, Layer 2 network Arbitrum has frozen $71 million in ether linked to the breach, which may pressure the exploiter to accelerate their efforts to move and launder the remaining funds.