Buterin Addresses Use of Railgun Mixer

Journalist Colin Wu, who discovered transactions by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin through the Railgun mixer, noted that the tool is also used by North Korean hackers, the Lazarus Group.

The service became an alternative for them following sanctions against Tornado Cash.

Wu also referenced a January 2023 FBI statement indicating that assets worth over $60 million, obtained from the Harmony hack, passed through the mixer.

Vitalik Buterin himself commented on the journalist’s tweet, stating that “privacy is normal.”

Privacy is normal.

Railgun uses the privacy pools protocol ( https://t.co/DekkatsMR5 ) which makes it much harder for bad actors to join the pool without compromising users’ privacy.https://t.co/MG0huDzpAu

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) April 15, 2024

“Railgun uses the privacy pools protocol, which makes it significantly harder for bad actors to join the pool without compromising users’ privacy,” he wrote.

Previously, community members on X explained the developer’s interest in mixers as due to “the significant attention on his persona.”

In the past six months, Buterin has interacted with the Railgun protocol several times. Initially, he sent small amounts, but over time increased the sum. The latest transaction on April 15 was for 100 ETH (~$325,000).