Orbit Chain Hacker Launders $48 Million in Stolen Crypto Through Tornado Cash
The Orbit Chain hacker has laundered $48 million of the stolen cryptocurrency through Tornado Cash, leaving a significant portion of the stolen assets untouched. The use of a crypto mixer makes it difficult to trace and recover the funds, posing a challenge for law enforcement agencies.
Resumption of Activity After Months of Stagnation
The perpetrator behind the Orbit Chain cross-chain bridge exploit has resurfaced, transferring a staggering $48 million in stolen funds through Tornado Cash. This marks a significant development as the hacker's activity had been dormant since the initial incident at the beginning of the year, during which an estimated $100 million was stolen.
Seven Transactions and Crypto Mixer Utilization
On June 8th, the hacker executed seven transactions, transferring 12,932 ETH (equivalent to $47.7 million) to a new address, according to Arkham Intelligence. Subsequently, the funds were moved to Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer notorious for facilitating the concealment of illicitly obtained funds. Etherscan records reveal that these transactions were broken down into batches of 100 ETH.
Remaining Stolen Assets and Unconverted Dai
The hacker has not yet converted the $20 million in Dai (DAI) that was stolen during the exploit, nor any other assets obtained through the cross-chain bridge. This leaves a remaining balance of $71.2 million in stolen funds, including $51.1 million in Ether tokens along with other tokens such as wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), wrapped Ethereum (wETH), Orbit Chain (ORC), and USD Coin (USDC).
Exploiting Tornado Cash for Anonymity and Evasion
Tornado Cash, a popular cryptocurrency privacy mixer, allows users to obscure the origin of their funds by mixing them with others. This feature is frequently exploited by hackers to launder stolen assets, making it difficult for authorities to track and recover the funds.
