Millions in Stolen Cryptocurrency Being Laundered by KelpDAO Hackers

According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT and data from Arkham, the perpetrators of the $290 million KelpDAO heist have initiated the laundering process of their illicit gains. On Tuesday, during European hours, the wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds made two transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, totaling $117 million and $58 million. ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen funds is being 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 tactic previously employed by North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The use of cross-chain transfers and privacy tools suggests that the attacker is in the 'layering' phase of money laundering, potentially preparing to disperse the funds further. The KelpDAO breach is one of the most significant DeFi incidents in recent months, triggering negative sentiment and contagion fears within the sector. 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.