Following the $290 million KelpDAO exploit, the perpetrators are now laundering their stolen funds, as indicated by on-chain analyst ZachXBT and data from Arkham. According to Arkham, the wallet controlling the exploit proceeds made two significant transfers, valued at $117 million and $58 million, on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday.
ZachXBT noted that a portion of the stolen funds has started to be 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 - a method previously used by the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The use of cross-chain transfers and privacy tools in the initial 'layering' phase of money laundering suggests that the attacker is preparing to further distribute the funds across multiple platforms. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, sparking negative sentiment and fears of contagion spreading to other blockchains. In response, Layer 2 network Arbitrum has frozen $71 million in ether linked to the hack, potentially pressuring the exploiter to accelerate their efforts to move and launder the remaining funds.