Crypto Hacks Exposed: How Are They Laundering Millions Through Tornado Cash?

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It is noteworthy to mention that three popular hackers alone, have washed 17,800 Ether (approx $42. 7 million) through Tornado Cash in the past three days alone as reported by lookonchain. Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency mixing service that enables users to obscure transactions; thus, it is a handy instrument for cybercriminals who want to conceal their funds.

Breakdown of the Deposits

1. Penpie Xyz Exploiter (9,600 ETH – $23M):

The biggest drain within the time frame under analysis was from the Penpiexyz exploiter, which took away 9,600 ETH worth $23 million. Earlier, Penpiexyz, a defi platform had been attacked and the offender utilized a weakness in the smart contracts. 

This attack did not only affect the platform but also created discussions regarding DeFi’s weaknesses in the modern world. The stolen assets are now being moved to Tornado Cash funds, thus making it almost impossible to track the stolen funds.

2. WazirX Exploiter (7,200 ETH – $17. 3M):

Another huge user of Tornado Cash was the hacker, who was involved in the theft of the WazirX exchange. The attacker within a week managed to transfer 7,200 ETH which is equivalent to $17. 3 million through the service. 

The hack exposed vulnerabilities in its systems and left WazirX, one of India’s largest crypto exchanges, reeling. This is because the stolen funds that are channeled through Tornado Cash are too many which makes the recovery process hard.

3. Fenbushi Capital Exploiter (1000 ETH- $2. 4M)

The third deposit was by the hacker who had taken $42 million from Bo Shen, the owner of Fenbushi Capital. The thief managed to transfer 1000 ETH, whose value at that time was $2. 4 million, through Tornado Cash. This exploit was directed at Shen’s personal wallet and was among the biggest individual hackings within the crypto-related platforms. 

Further, the efforts that Shen has been making to follow the flow of the funds have been an issue since the hacker continues to use Tornado Cash to obscure the stolen cryptocurrency.

Tornado Cash’s Role

Although Tornado Cash has been targeted severally, sanctioned and banned for its usage, it is still a go-to platform for hackers. One is that in the platform, there is no way that one can tell where stolen funds originated from and where they are headed. 

Due to the steady rise in crypto crimes, it becomes quite hard for the regulators to stop the use of Tornado Cash, or any other application in the DeFi space that will be involved in unlawful activities.

This flooding of stolen funds to Tornado Cash proves that more intense security measures need to be applied within the blockchain space to avoid further big-scale thefts, and also to make it easier to trace stolen assets.

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