Kelp DAO Hackers Launder Most of Unfrozen $220 Million, Lowering Recovery Odds
Summary
- The North Korea-linked hacking group TraderTraitor laundered about $220 million stolen in the Kelp DAO hack, according to The Defiant.
- The stolen funds were moved through privacy-focused protocols including THORChain, Wasabi, Tornado Cash and Umbra.
- The remaining stolen funds outside the frozen assets are now less likely to be recovered because they have gone through anonymizing procedures.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
A North Korea-linked hacking group accused of carrying out the Kelp DAO breach has laundered most of the stolen funds that were not frozen.
The Defiant reported on June 2, citing on-chain tracking, that TraderTraitor, a hacking group tied to North Korea, laundered about $220 million linked to the Kelp DAO attack.
The funds were moved through privacy-focused protocols including THORChain, Wasabi, Tornado Cash and Umbra.
Only about $1.7 million remains in the hackers' original wallets, the report said.
The Defiant said most of the unfrozen funds have gone through anonymizing procedures, effectively closing off any direct path to asset recovery.
Kelp DAO lost about $293 million in an April attack that exploited a bridge vulnerability. The Arbitrum Security Council later froze about $71 million of Ether, and major DeFi protocols including Aave have discussed recovery measures.
The laundering is set to further reduce the chances of recovering the remaining stolen funds outside the frozen assets.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.
