Millions in Stolen Cryptocurrency Being Laundered by KelpDAO Hackers

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 illicit gains. Arkham's data reveals that the wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds made two significant transfers, totaling $117 million and $58 million, on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. ZachXBT noted that a portion of the stolen funds is being moved across different blockchains, with approximately $1.5 million being bridged from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain and an additional $78,000 routed through the Umbra privacy protocol. This cross-chain movement and use of privacy tools are characteristic of the early 'layering' phase in money laundering, suggesting that the attacker is preparing to further disperse the funds. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi security incidents in recent months, triggering widespread negative sentiment and fears of potential contagion across the DeFi sector. In response to the breach, Layer 2 network Arbitrum froze $71 million in ether linked to the hack, which may pressure the exploiter to accelerate their efforts to move and launder the remaining stolen funds.