Millions in Stolen Cryptocurrency Being Laundered by KelpDAO Hackers

According to ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, and data from Arkham, the perpetrators of the $290 million KelpDAO heist have started to launder their stolen funds. On Tuesday, during European hours, the wallet controlling the exploited funds made two transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, totaling $117 million and $58 million. Furthermore, ZachXBT discovered that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency has been moved across different blockchains, with approximately $1.5 million being transferred 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 similar protocols for laundering purposes. The use of cross-chain transactions and privacy tools in the initial 'layering' phase suggests that the attacker may be preparing to disperse the funds further. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, triggering negative sentiment and fears of potential contagion across the sector. In response, Arbitrum, a layer 2 network, has frozen $71 million in ether linked to the hack, which may pressure the exploiter to expedite the movement and laundering of the remaining funds.