- The aftermath of the Poloniex hack in November 2023 continues to unravel as stolen cryptocurrency funds are still on the move.
- Blockchain investigation company, PeckShield, recently discovered that over half of the stolen funds have been transferred through Tornado Cash.
- The hacker moved 17.8K ETH, worth approximately $53.5 million, from six different wallets to a single address of the coin mixer, Tornado Cash.
Investigations into the Poloniex hack reveal that stolen funds are still being moved, with over half being transferred through Tornado Cash. The hacker recently moved 17.8K ETH, worth approximately $53.5 million, to a single address of the coin mixer.
Details of the Stolen Funds Movement
More than six months after the hack, the bad actor moved the substantial amount of ETH to Tornado Cash from six different wallets. This latest transfer comes a week after the hacker moved more than 1,100 ETH in 11 batches of 100 ETH to the sanctioned crypto mixer over a period of two hours.
Background of the Poloniex Hack
Poloniex was hacked in November 2023 after its private keys were compromised by malicious actors. The attackers, suspected to be the notorious Lazarus Group associated with the North Korean government, stole around $126 million from the exchange’s hot wallets. Poloniex later stated that its team identified and froze a portion of the assets linked to the hacker’s addresses to prevent additional losses. They also mentioned that the losses are within “manageable limits” and that their operating revenue can cover them.
Poloniex’s Response and Future Plans
TRON founder Justin Sun, who bought Poloniex in 2019, vowed to completely compensate the affected users of the exchange while asserting that it is financially stable and is seeking partnerships with other exchanges to recover the lost funds.
Conclusion
The movement of the stolen funds from the Poloniex hack raises concerns about the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and the effectiveness of current measures to track and recover stolen funds. As investigations continue, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold and what steps will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
