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 illicitly obtained funds. Arkham's data reveals that the controlling wallet of the exploit's proceeds executed two significant transactions - $117 million and $58 million - on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency has started 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. Notably, North Korean hacking group Lazarus has previously employed protocols like Thorchain for laundering purposes.
The use of cross-chain transfers and privacy tools typically marks the initial 'layering' phase of money laundering, suggesting that the attacker may be preparing to further distribute the funds across multiple platforms. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most substantial decentralized finance hacks in recent months, triggering widespread negative sentiment across the DeFi sector and sparking fears of potential contagion to other blockchains.
In response, Layer 2 network Arbitrum announced the freezing of $71 million in ether linked to the hack, a move that could prompt the exploiter to expedite the transfer and laundering of the remaining funds.