Shocking Revelations: North Korea's Lazarus Group Strikes Again! 💰😱

Well now, gather ’round, folks! It seems that North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group has taken to the high seas of digital mischief once more, laundering a staggering 62,200 Ether, which is about as much as a small fortune in the land of the living! This little escapade, worth a cool $138 million, was plucked right from the Bybit hack on February 21, and they’ve left a mere 156,500 Ether still waiting for a ride. Ain’t that a hoot? 🤪

Now, if my calculations are correct—and they usually are—about 343,000 Ether of the 499,000 Ether that was spirited away during the $1.4 billion Bybit heist has already been moved. This nugget of wisdom comes from a certain X user by the name of EmberCN, who seems to think the remaining funds will be cleared out faster than a cat can lick its ear in the next three days. 🐱💨

It appears that the laundering activities had slowed down a tad, thanks to the good ol’ US Federal Bureau of Investigation, who’ve been hollering at node operators, crypto exchanges, and bridges to block any transactions that smell like the Bybit hackers. Talk about a digital game of whack-a-mole! 🎯

The FBI, bless their hearts, has shared a list of 51 Ethereum addresses that are either run by or linked to these crafty hackers. Meanwhile, the blockchain sleuths over at Elliptic have flagged over 11,000 crypto wallet addresses that might just be playing in the same sandbox. 🕵️‍♂️

Now, let’s not forget our friends at Chainalysis, who’ve reported that these digital bandits have been busy converting their ill-gotten Ether into Bitcoin, Dai stablecoin, and other shiny assets through decentralized exchanges and crosschain bridges—without so much as a “Howdy, partner!” to the Know Your Customer protocols. What a ruckus! 🤷‍♂️

One of those protocols, THORChain, has been taking quite the beating for allowing a hefty share of these illicit transfers. One of their developers, a chap known as “Pluto,” has thrown in the towel, saying they won’t be contributing anymore after a vote to block transactions linked to the North Korean mischief-makers was overturned. Talk about a dramatic exit! 🎭

In a note to CryptoMoon, the founder of THORChain, John-Paul Thorbjornsen, has washed his hands of the whole affair, claiming none of the sanctioned crypto wallet addresses listed by the FBI and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control have ever danced with their protocol. Sounds like a classic case of “not my circus, not my monkeys!” 🐒

And let’s not forget, the $1.4 billion Bybit hack on February 21 was the biggest heist in the crypto world—more than doubling the losses from the $650 million Ronin bridge hack back in March 2022. Now that’s what I call a record! 🏆

2025-03-02 07:53

Shocking Revelations: North Korea’s Lazarus Group Strikes Again! 💰😱

Read More