Hacks no longer surprise the crypto community. Even during the horrific bear market, the crypto community faced attacks. These hacks are certainly not limited to a few thousand. Millions of dollars have been washed away in recent months. Names that often come up are Russia and North Korea. A recent report, compiled by Chainalysis, reveals that crypto mixers have received larger amounts of illicit crypto.
According to the report, the 30-day moving average of value collected by mixers managed to climb to a high of $51.8 million in April. Illegal addresses accounted for 23 percent of the money sent to these mixers throughout the year. This was almost double the percentage sent last year, at 12 percent.
As can be seen in the image above, about 10 percent of all funds sent from illicit addresses are sent onward to crypto mixers. Other addresses didn’t come close.
Mixers are probably the most private sector of the crypto verse. Since the transaction history is hidden, money laundering is at the forefront here. Tornado Cash is emerging as a prominent platform for hackers.
These mixers acquired most of these funds from Hydra Marketplace, a Russian darknet. North Korea was right next to Russia, as the government-backed Lazarus Group came in second. While this chart was limited to sanctioned entities, both regions have found many illegal activities.
As can be seen in the image above, Hydra accounted for 50 percent of the funds. It should be noted that it was approved in April 2022. Hydra has cropped up in the crypto verse many times as it used these assets to carry out activities on the dark web.
North Korea’s Lazarus Group Comes Into the Spotlight
Lazarus Group is the same entity behind the infamous Ronin Bridge and the latest Harmony’s Horizon Bridge attack. While Ronin Bridge was hacked for a whopping $625 million, Horizon Bridge underwent a $100 million exploit. So it’s not surprising that they accounted for 30 percent of the illicit funds sent to mixers.
In addition to the Lazarus Group, there was another entity from North Korea itself. While it made up 18 percent in the chart above, Chainalysis said:
Blender.io, on the other hand, became the first ever blender to be sanctioned this year for its role in laundering money stolen by Lazarus Group and others associated with North Korea. Any funds it sends to other mixers could very well be a continuation of that activity.”
North Korea appears to be leading the way in crypto hacking company. The economic conditions of the country remain under wraps. Meanwhile, illegal activities as such are in the spotlight.