A cybercrime group linked to North Korea, Lazarus Group, is responsible for laundering over $200 million in stolen cryptocurrency between 2020 and 2023.
Another day, another scam story in the crypto space. Between August 2020 and October 2023, the Lazarus Group from North Korea, notorious for its cyber heists, laundered $200 million worth of cryptocurrency into fiat money through various means. This operation was meticulously executed through sophisticated maneuvers exploiting vulnerabilities across multiple blockchains.
Lazarus is the most notorious group of cryptocurrency hackers from North Korea and first emerged in 2009. The Lazarus Group has stolen more than $3 Billion worth of cryptocurrency in the previous six years leading up to 2023.
Unveiling the Laundering Network by ZachXBT
ZachXBT’s investigation highlights how Lazarus Group obfuscates the trail of stolen cryptocurrency. Their operation was meticulously executed through sophisticated maneuvers exploiting vulnerabilities across multiple blockchains. Their heist involves various steps like conversion of the stablecoins, cashing out and peer-to-peer marketplace.
1/ How Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25+ crypto hacks to fiat from 2020 – 2023https://t.co/s8zNFwlamb
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 29, 2024
The group transforms the stolen funds into stablecoin, such as USDT (Tether), which is a cryptocurrency pegged to the value of the US dollar. This conversion helps to reduce the price volatility during the laundering process.
The laundered funds then migrated to the peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces like Paxful and Noones. These platforms allow their users to trade cryptocurrencies with each other directly, potentially offering anonymity for illicit activities.
Also, the group uses a specific user name on platforms like EasyGoatfish351 and FairJunco470 to convert the stolen asset into fiat currency.
ZachXBT has reported all of this on their social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter. ZachXBT said the number of people affected by Lazarus Group attacks in space has been consistently increasing, both directly and indirectly. It appears that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
According to the ZachXBT report, Tether blacklisted more than $374,000 worth of stolen cryptocurrency assets in November 2023. Additionally, three out of four stablecoin issuers have blacklisted an additional $3.4 million that was found in a group of addresses associated with Lazarus.
Lazarus Group Connected to Major Crypto Hacks In 2023
17% of hacks done in 2023 are connected to Lazarus Group, which has a worth of over $309 million. The heist was done through advanced cyberattacks, and the Lazarus group has been connected to various crypto attacks, such as the Ronin bridge hack in March 2022 and the $100 million Harmony bridge exploit in January 2023.
