Millions in Stolen Cryptocurrency Being Laundered by KelpDAO Hackers, Data Reveals

Following the KelpDAO exploit, in which $290 million was stolen, the perpetrators are now initiating the laundering process of their illicitly obtained funds, as indicated by on-chain analyst ZachXBT and data provided by Arkham. According to Arkham, the wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds made two significant transfers - $117 million and $58 million - on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen funds is being moved across different chains. Approximately $1.5 million was transferred from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain, and an additional $78,000 was routed through the Umbra privacy protocol. Notably, North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group has previously employed protocols like Thorchain for laundering purposes. The use of cross-chain routing and privacy tools is typically associated with the initial 'layering' phase of money laundering, suggesting that the attacker may be preparing to further distribute the funds across multiple platforms. The KelpDAO exploit is among the most significant breaches in the decentralized finance sector in recent months, prompting a wave of negative sentiment and concerns about potential contagion effects on other blockchains. On Monday, Layer 2 network Arbitrum announced that it had frozen $71 million in ether linked to the hack, a move that may pressure the exploiter to accelerate their efforts to move and launder the remaining funds.