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 wallet controlling the exploit's proceeds made two significant transfers, totaling $117 million and $58 million, on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday. Furthermore, ZachXBT has reported that a portion of the stolen funds is 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 similar protocols, such as Thorchain, for laundering purposes.
The use of cross-chain routing and privacy tools at this stage suggests that the attacker is likely preparing to disperse the funds further across multiple platforms. As one of the most significant breaches in the decentralized finance sector in recent months, the KelpDAO exploit has sparked widespread negative sentiment and concerns over potential 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.