The Lazarus Group, a North Korean cybercrime organization, has transferred 41,000 Ether (US$63.9 million) stolen from the 2022 Harmony bridge hack to cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, OKX and Huobi, according to blockchain data shared by Twitter sleuth ZachXBT.
See related article: North Korea said to be responsible for Harmony Horizon hack
Fast facts
- The transactions took place on Jan. 13, ZachXBT said on Monday, adding that the funds were moved through the Ethereum-based smart contract Railgun, which removes identifying information from crypto transactions.
- ZachXBT also shared on Monday a list of over 350 wallet addresses believed to be linked to the hackers.
- Binance Global Inc. Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao tweeted on Monday that Binance and Huobi cooperated to freeze on both exchanges the accounts associated with the Harmony bridge.
- Zhao added that 124 Bitcoin had been recovered between the two exchanges, which could suggest that the hackers may have swapped some Ether for Bitcoin.
- The estimated US$100 million hack on Harmony’s Horizon cross-chain bridge occurred on June 24, 2022.
- Cross-chain bridges allow digital assets on one blockchain to be used on another. Nearly 70% of around US$2 billion worth of stolen assets in the first eight months of 2022 were looted from cross-chain bridges, according to blockchain data firm Chainalysis.
- The Lazarus Group is believed to be one of the most prolific crypto hacking organizations in the world, having allegedly stolen more than US$1 billion dollars in the first seven months of 2022. They are believed to be behind the US$620 million Ronin hack — the largest in crypto history.
See related article: Harmony’s compensation plan upsets hack victims