500 bitcoins, worth approximately $30.4 million, have reportedly been transferred from a cryptocurrency address linked to the $305 million DMM Bitcoin hack in May.
according to PeckShield Alert On August 22, the suspicious address initially split the funds between two separate addresses, each of which received around 250 BTC.
#PeckShieldAlert #DMMB Bitcoin The address labeled by the hacker is 500 moved $btc (worth ~$30.4M) to 2 new addresses pic.twitter.com/iINogvgwpK
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) August 22, 2024
DMM Bitcoin Hack Details
This money is believed to be part of the stolen amount. It may be related to the 4,502.9 BTC stolen from the DMM Bitcoin exchange in May. At the time of the theft, this amount was worth approximately $305 million, However, its current value is just over $274 million. In response to the breach, DMM Bitcoin immediately raised $320 million to reimburse victims.
Blockchain innovator ZachXBT has also previously Held responsible The attack has been blamed on the Lazarus Group, a notorious hacking organisation reportedly linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
According to the on-chain analyst, the methods used to launder the stolen funds and various off-chain indicators strongly point to the involvement of the Lazarus Group in the heist.
Following the hack, the attackers reportedly split the stolen bitcoin into smaller batches of 500 BTC and transferred them to new wallets. PeckShield has identified that the latest funds transferred since the May 31 incident originated from one of these wallets.
In July, ZachXBT alleged that attackers transferred about $35 million worth of bitcoin to Cambodia-based exchange Huione Guarantee. The exchange has recently been accused of facilitating money laundering from various crypto hacks, pig baiting scams, and other illegal activities.
Previous Trauma of DMM Hack
DMM Bitcoin attackers usually transfer the stolen cryptocurrency to a privacy mixer and then bridge it to Ethereum and Avalanche using THORChain. The stolen assets are then converted to Tether, transferred to Tron, and deposited into Huion.
In July, DMM Bitcoin lost 48 billion yen ($305 million) in bitcoin (BTC) due to a hack. Blog On the exchange’s website, 4,502.9 BTC were “leaked” from the platform. The exchange has implemented measures to avoid additional unauthorized outflows.
DMM Bitcoin has halted all spot trading on its platform in response to the hack and warned that withdrawals in Japanese yen “may take longer than usual.”
The episode adds to a growing list of cryptocurrency thefts in 2024, with the incident already resulting in losses of over $473 million. The hack is the second-largest in Japan, after the 58 billion yen loss suffered by Coincheck in 2018.
according to Chainalysis Report, Illicit activity on blockchain networks has decreased by about 20% so far this year. However, malware and stolen funds have increased. The flow of stolen funds doubled to $1.58 billion, compared to $857 million last year. Ransomware flows also increased by about 2% to $459.8 million.
Featured image from Ideogram, chart from Tradingview.com.
