More than 50 days after they hacked WazirX exchange and stole cryptocurrencies worth $234 Million (Rs 2000 crore), the alleged hackers moved 5000 ETH worth Rs 100 crore on Wednesday in process of laundering them through Tornado Cash Mixer. In the past three days, the WazirX hackers have transferred 7600 ETH worth Rs 152 crores of user funds to different addresses in order to launder them.
As per data accessed by The Crypto Times team, the “WazirX exploiter” made a single transaction of 5000 ETH around 1: 30 pm IST and transferred them to a new address. The antics of WazirX hacker continues even as the exchange management is engaged in a legal tussle with Binance.
According to blockchain analytics firm PeckShield, the exploiter has transferred 5,000 ETH worth approximately $12 million (100 Cr.) to a new wallet (0x2D2…a968) and is gradually sending the funds to Tornado Cash.
Moreover, in just 30 minutes of receiving the funds in the new wallet, the exploiter sent 1,600 ETH (around $3.8 million) to Tornado Cash in 16 transactions of 100 ETH each. This follows a similar pattern observed on September 2, when the attacker laundered 2,600 ETH ($6.5 million) through the same method.
This strategy is designed to avoid detection by blockchain monitoring services, as larger transactions are more likely to raise red flags. So in total WazirX hackers managed to move 7600 ETH to new addresses and launder a total of 4200 ETH worth around $10.11 million through Tornado Cash Mixer.
Learn More About Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash is a privacy-enhancing protocol that mixes funds to obscure their source. It operates by combining multiple incoming transactions into a single output transaction, making it difficult to trace individual funds back to their original source. It has been under scrutiny for its role in facilitating money laundering activities. The exploiter appears to be leveraging Tornado Cash to obfuscate the trail of the stolen funds.
With no help in sight, WazirX users turn to hackers for mercy
Recently, WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty released a statement that there is an ongoing dispute between Binance and Zettai Pte Ltd- the parent company of WazirX over the ownership of the exchange. Therefore, Shetty had assessed that he is himself not sure who is responsible for the safety of user crypto funds, In the light of increased ambiguity, the WazirX users are now trying to reach out to the alleged hackers.
Conclusion
As the investigation into the WazirX exploit continues, authorities are closely monitoring the exploiter’s activities and working to recover the stolen funds. The use of Tornado Cash adds a layer of complexity to the case, highlighting the challenges faced in tracking illicit cryptocurrency transactions.
Also Read: WazirX users now seek justice from PM Modi who is in Singapore
