Ronin bridge Hackers used ChipMixer to launder over $73M of stolen funds

admin August 22, 2022

0 1 minute read

An on-chain investigation by SlowMists revealed that Ronin bridge hackers (Lazarus Group) laundered 3,460 BTC ($73.2 million per hour of press) using privacy protocol ChipMixer.

in the middle of the year report On-chain investigation of Ronin hack conducted by blockchain security firm SlowMist, mixed protocol chip mixer has been indicted as a destination for hackers on the Bitcoin network.

according to report, Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge lost $610 million worth of assets to hackers on March 29. However, most of the funds were laundered on the Ethereum and Bitcoin networks.

Tornado Cash received 74.7% (300,160 ETH) of the funds laundered on the Ethereum blockchain, but the hacker’s address still owns 95,570 ETH.

A total of 6,531.04 BTC has been transferred to the Bitcoin network. ChipMixer facilitated the laundering of his 3,460 BTC (his 49.1% of the funds), but 36.6% is still held at hacker addresses.

Hackers withdrew a total of 2,671 BTC from the ChipMixer protocol, transferred funds through Blender, Wasabi Coinjoin, and a small amount to the Binance exchange.

Lazarus Group prefers laundering on Bitcoin network

The study also noted that top-tier hackers like the Lazarous Group prefer to launder money through the Bitcoin network. The rationale behind this is that Bitcoin offers more anonymity and flexibility than Ethereum to allow criminal activity to be carried out. Lazarus Group launders more funds in Bitcoin than any other network.

Will ChipMixer be the next candidate on the sanctions list?

ChipMixer facilitated 48.9% of funds laundered on the Bitcoin network, while Tornado Cash facilitated 74.6% on the Ethereum network.

SlowMist noted that in 2022 alone, 26,021 BTC were sent to ChipMixer and 14,370 BTC were withdrawn from the mixing protocol. His involvement in financial crimes peaked in March when he hacked the Ronin bridge.

ChipMixer may also be under scrutiny as regulators target mixing protocols. Early May, Mixing Protocol blender was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for its involvement in the Ronin hack. Most recently, Tornado Cash had to go out of business following US Treasury Department sanctions and the arrest of developer Alexei Pertsev.