2 years ago
Crypto exchanges Binance and Huobi person frozen cryptocurrencies worthy astir $1.4 cardinal linked to North Korea, according to blockchain analytics steadfast Elliptic. The steadfast noted that the stolen funds, which were dormant until recently, originated from the June 2022 hack of Harmony’s Horizon Bridge.
North Korea-Linked Crypto Frozen by Binance and Huobi
Blockchain analytics steadfast Elliptic said Tuesday that it has collaborated with cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Huobi “to frost Lazarus Group hack proceeds.” Elliptic wrote:
Crypto exchanges Binance and Huobi contiguous froze accounts containing astir $1.4 cardinal successful cryptoassets originating from the June 2022 hack of Harmony’s Horizon Bridge.
“The Horizon cross-chain span was attacked connected June 24th 2022, resulting successful the nonaccomplishment of $99.6 cardinal successful cryptoassets. These funds were past laundered done the now-sanctioned Tornado Cash,” the blockchain analytics steadfast detailed. Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash was banned past August by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).
The Horizon Bridge hacker sent implicit 98% of the $100 cardinal successful stolen crypto assets into the Tornado Cash mixer, Elliptic said successful June past year. The stolen crypto assets included ether (ETH), tether (USDT), wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), and Binance coin (BNB), the steadfast noted, adding that the hacker instantly utilized Uniswap to person the Ethereum-based assets into 85,837 ETH.
Elliptic investigators traced the funds’ implicit way done the mixer, and attributed the hack to the Lazarus Group, a North Korea-controlled cybercrime organization. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aboriginal confirmed Lazarus Group’s engagement successful the hack. Elliptic continued:
The stolen funds remained dormant until recently, erstwhile our investigators began to spot them funneled done analyzable chains of transactions to exchanges.
Elliptic CEO Simone Maini commented:
Today, wealth laundering was detected and stolen funds linked to North Korea were frozen, successful existent time.
“As an manufacture we person the powerfulness and work to forestall integer assets becoming a haven for wealth launderers and sanctions evaders, and guarantee that they are a unit for good,” the CEO added.
What bash you deliberation astir Binance and Huobi freezing crypto assets linked to North Korea? Let america cognize successful the comments conception below.
Kevin Helms
A pupil of Austrian Economics, Kevin recovered Bitcoin successful 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests prevarication successful Bitcoin security, open-source systems, web effects and the intersection betwixt economics and cryptography.
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