Lazarus retrieves $1.2m Bitcoin from cryptocurrency mixer
Lazarus, a well-known cybercriminal group, appears to be taking action to move the Bitcoin they stole after successfully siphoning off more than $600 million from various cryptocurrency platforms and users in 2023.
The hacking organization, which is believed to be funded by North Korea, recently withdrew 27.3 Bitcoin (BTC) from an unidentified crypto mixer, amounting to an estimated value of $1.2 million. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Lazarus conducted two separate transactions on January 8th in order to cash out their ill-gotten Bitcoin.
The first transaction involved a transfer of 10 BTC, valued at $440,000, to a Lazarus wallet. The second transaction saw a transfer of 17.3 BTC, worth $762,000, from a contract address to the same wallet. Shortly after, the receiving address sent 3.3 BTC to another address that held just under $300,000 in Bitcoin.
Arkham Intelligence has identified that Lazarus currently possesses illicit wealth totaling $79 million, with Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and Binance’s BNB being the top three assets held by the group. Reports indicate that Lazarus was responsible for orchestrating approximately one-third of all crypto hacks that occurred last year.
Cryptocurrency users often utilize mixers or tumblers to obfuscate the origin of their assets. This process is commonly employed by malicious actors to hide their blockchain footprints following a hack or exploit.
In the past, Lazarus has sent stolen digital assets to services such as Tornado Cash, Sinbad, and Blender.io. However, some of these platforms have been blacklisted by authorities in the United States, and charges have been filed against their creators.
The developers of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, Roman Semenov, and Roman Storm, are currently facing money laundering and conspiracy charges in both the United States and the Netherlands. Despite these charges, they maintain their innocence, and supporters of the industry argue that creators of open-source protocols should not be held responsible for the actions of third-party applications.
In a separate case, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed a lawsuit against Uniswap, a decentralized exchange, which sought damages and restitution due to losses incurred from trading scam tokens. This ruling may be seen as a positive outcome for participants in the crypto industry and defendants involved in defi-related charges around the world. However, it is worth noting that a district court judge recently sided with the U.S. Treasury Department in a lawsuit involving Coinbase and the sanctions imposed on the crypto mixer, Tornado Cash.
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