North Korean hackers have been making waves in the crypto world once again, this time through their involvement in laundering activities on the LiFi Protocol. According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, a significant portion of the protocol’s recent surge in activity can be attributed to North Korean hackers laundering funds from the Bybit hack.
In a recent report, LiFi Protocol revealed record-breaking figures, with $3 billion in volume, 4.37 million executed transactions, and over 510,000 unique users in May alone. However, ZachXBT pointed out that the underlying reason for this surge in activity was likely tied to illicit activities by North Korean hackers.
The investigator highlighted the sophisticated tactics employed by these hackers to launder funds, including frequent chain-hopping and token swaps to obfuscate the source of funds. As a result, network activity on LiFi Protocol was inflated, with ZachXBT estimating that North Korean hackers accounted for 15-25% of the protocol’s overall activity during the period in question.
Despite the transparency of blockchain transactions, these laundering tactics make it difficult to trace the origin of funds. In the case of the Bybit hack, over half of the stolen $1.4 billion was reportedly untraceable on-chain by the end of May, indicating that the hackers had successfully laundered a significant portion of the funds.
The involvement of North Korean hackers in crypto laundering activities continues to be a concerning issue for the industry. As regulators and law enforcement agencies work to crack down on illicit activities, it is essential for platforms like LiFi Protocol to remain vigilant and implement robust security measures to prevent such activities in the future.