"North Korean Hackers Launder Funds Through Solana Into Bitcoin" [Crypto Radar]

"Tron-to-Solana" blockchain transfers and transactions
Stolen funds also converted to Ethereum
U.S. authorities warn of further money laundering

Hackers who stole $6.3 billion (approximately 8.48 trillion won) from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, are accelerating their money laundering by moving the stolen assets across multiple blockchains and converting them into Bitcoin.

According to cryptocurrency news outlet Cointelegraph on Nov. 2 local time, the hackers are continuing to launder funds that avoided being frozen by converting them into other cryptocurrencies. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, the hackers are exchanging 486,970 Solana tokens worth approximately $46.4 million for Bitcoin. They used Relay, a cryptocurrency exchange service, in the process.

The hackers had previously moved funds from the TRON blockchain network to multiple wallets. They then emptied most of those wallets and expanded their laundering activity to the Solana network. By moving between different blockchains and cryptocurrencies, they are making the funds harder to trace.

The hackers have also repeatedly conducted transactions to conceal the funds' movement. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said its analysis showed that the hackers used automation to generate thousands of transactions in a short period. Their methods include repeatedly transferring funds among multiple wallets and sending them back to wallets they had already used.

Some of the stolen funds also flowed into a centralized cryptocurrency exchange. According to Lookonchain, the hackers deposited approximately $250,000 into the exchange Gate in the 12 hours leading up to Nov. 2. Gate said it had frozen two related accounts and would cooperate with investigators.

The hack, which occurred on Oct. 29, is the largest theft in the history of cryptocurrency. Major cryptocurrency companies including Tether and Circle have frozen approximately $3 billion in stolen funds, but the hackers are still believed to control about $3.5 billion.

Binance said the attack compromised a "hot wallet," a cryptocurrency storage wallet connected to the internet. An initial investigation pointed to a hack of an employee's laptop as the entry point, but investigators later identified additional security breaches. Binance has been gradually restoring withdrawal services since Nov. 1 and is working to compensate customers for their losses while collaborating with U.S. authorities to recover the stolen assets.

On Oct. 31, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the North Korea-linked hacking group TraderTraitor as being behind the attack and published cryptocurrency wallet addresses associated with the stolen funds. The FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division urged cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) service providers to block related transactions. The FBI also said it had confirmed that the hackers were primarily converting the stolen cryptocurrency into Ethereum. It added that the hackers were expected to pursue further laundering through DeFi and instant cryptocurrency exchange services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.