Unmasking Cross-Chain Crime: The $7 Billion Cryptocurrency Laundering Scheme and its Shift from Mixers to Asset-Hopping

Unmasking Cross-Chain Crime: The $7 Billion Cryptocurrency Laundering Scheme and its Shift from Mixers to Asset-Hopping

Cross-Chain Crime: A Sneaky $7 Billion in Crypto Washed Whiter than your Dad’s New Sneakers

Main Points:

  • Up to $7 billion in cryptocurrency has been illicitly laundered through cross-chain crime.
  • The North Korea-associated Lazarus Group is connected to approximately $900 million of the stolen funds between July 2022 and July of this year.
  • Crypto crime has been gradually migrating to chain- or asset-hopping.

Introduction to the White Shoe Shuffle: $7 Billion in Digital Dough Disappears

With enough dough to buy all the pizza for every coder in Silicon Valley, a whopping $7 billion in cryptocurrency has shadily shimmied its way through the murky underbelly of cross-chain crime. This alarming amount is about equivalent to the net worth of every iPhone ever sold. If you’re searching for a needle in a haystack, try looking in a digital one, good luck!

Lazarus Group, Crazier than a Zombie Apocalypse on the Blockchain

The North Korea-linked Lazarus Group, an infamous cyber gang notorious for its sneaky dealings, has allegedly raked in around $900 million of these illicit proceeds between July 2022 and July of this year. That’s almost seven times the gross of “The Matrix” films. Rename it ‘The Metrics’ because the numbers involved are staggering!

Cybercrime’s Change of Address: From Mixers to Chain-Hopping

As your dad might move from using a conventional alarm clock to his smartphone to find yet another inventive way to wake you up at 6am, cybercriminals are evolving too. Crypto crime is progressively ditching traditional entities such as ‘mixers’, which are currently under scrutiny from seizures and sanctions. Instead, these tech-age artful dodgers are opting for chain- or asset-hopping, turning the blockchain into a blockchain-Bop-It of evasion tactics.

The Takeaway

In summary, a stomach-turning $7 billion in cryptocurrency has been laundered through this digital dance called cross-chain crime, led by groups like the Lazarus Group linked to a cool $900 million of that total. As traditional ‘mixers’ face the music, crypto crime has taken on the rhythm of chain- or asset-hopping, leaving law enforcement and regulatory bodies scrambling to keep pace with these ever-evolving underhanded antics. It’s a bit like trying to stop your dad from saying “Hi Hungry, I’m Dad” every time you say you’re hungry. Futile, but you know you got to try!

Original Article: https://thehackernews.com/2023/10/north-koreas-lazarus-group-launders-900.html


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