Millions in Stolen Cryptocurrency Being Laundered by KelpDAO Hackers

According to ZachXBT, a blockchain sleuth, and data from Arkham, the perpetrators of the $290 million KelpDAO heist have initiated the laundering process of their illicit proceeds. Arkham's data reveals that the wallet controlling the exploited funds made two significant transfers, totaling $117 million and $58 million, on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. Furthermore, ZachXBT discovered that a portion of the stolen funds has been moved across 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. This cross-chain movement and use of privacy tools are characteristic of the early stages of money laundering, suggesting that the attacker is preparing to disperse the funds further. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, triggering a wave of negative sentiment and contagion fears across the sector. In response to the hack, Layer 2 network Arbitrum has frozen $71 million in ether linked to the breach, potentially pressuring the exploiter to expedite the movement and laundering of the remaining funds.