On May 7, the hacker responsible for last year’s breach of the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex transferred 100 ETH (approximately $308,000) to the mixer Tornado Cash. This was noted by journalist Colin Wu.
Today, Poloniex Hacker: 0x3E…fDFd transferred 100 ETH (about $308,000) to Tornado Cash. This is the first time that the Poloniex hacker has transferred money to Tornado Cash for money laundering. Currently, the Poloniex hacker also has $182 million in crypto assets, including…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 7, 2024
This marks the first instance of the hacker attempting to launder the stolen assets.
According to PeckShieldAlert, the amount sent to Tornado Cash has increased to 3000 ETH (~$3 million).
#PeckShieldAlert #KronosResearch Hacker has already transferred 1K $ETH (~$3m) to #Tornadocash pic.twitter.com/nKoLKY9ZMU
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) May 7, 2024
The hacker’s wallet still holds cryptocurrencies worth $182 million, including:
- 25,563 ETH (~$79 million);
- 305 million TRX (~$36.3 million);
- 501.6 BTC (~$32 million);
- 364.2 BTCT (~$23.3 million).
North Korean cybercriminals are suspected to be behind the breach.
Back in November 10, 2023, Poloniex lost nearly $125 million in cryptocurrencies due to the attack. The exchange’s owner, Justin Sun, reported the “successful identification and freezing of some assets linked to the hacker’s addresses.”
Later, the entrepreneur offered the hacker a $10 million reward for returning the stolen assets.