Following the $290 million KelpDAO hack, the perpetrators are now attempting to legitimize their stolen funds, as indicated by on-chain analyst ZachXBT and data from Arkham. According to Arkham, 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 revealed that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency has started to be transferred across different blockchains, with approximately $1.5 million being moved 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 money laundering purposes.
The use of cross-chain transfers and privacy tools typically occurs during the initial 'layering' phase of laundering, suggesting that the attacker is likely preparing to further distribute the funds across various platforms. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, triggering widespread negative sentiment and contagion fears throughout the DeFi sector. In response, Layer 2 network Arbitrum announced the freezing of $71 million in ether linked to the hack, potentially pressuring the exploiter to expedite the transfer and laundering of the remaining funds.