In addition to the bear market, players in the crypto industry have to deal with another difficulty: hacking. Indeed, since the beginning of this year, the theft of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies has been a serious handicap for the industry. US authorities have taken the lead in conducting a witch hunt. This enabled them to recoup nearly $30 million from the 600 million pirated at the beginning of the year in the online game Axie Infinity by a North Korean entity. Chainalysis, the cryptocurrency analysis company, published this announcement.
Axie Infinity: $30 million in cryptocurrencies recovered from North Korean hackers
Since the start of this year, cryptocurrency hacking has cost the industry over $2 billion. According to an announcement last Thursday by crypto tracking firm Chainalysis, another theft took place earlier this year. Fortunately, the outcome was less disastrous this time, because the American authorities were able to recover the 30 million embezzled. The victim this time was the online video game Axie Infinity. The perpetrators of this macabre act are said to be members of the Lazarus Group, an organization linked to North Korea. This entity was not on its first package, it is suspected of being the source of several other thefts.
This is Erine Plante, the Senior Director of Investigations at Chainalysis who delivered this testimony in a blog post. You can read there that: “With the help of law enforcement and leading organizations in the cryptocurrency industry, over $30 million in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers has been seized. This is the first time cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized, and we’re confident it won’t be the last. » These crooks managed to steal nearly $600 million from the Axie Infinity game last spring.
Recovery does not change anything for Tornado Cash
The US Treasury Department had sanctioned Tornado Cash for its alleged involvement in the hack against Axie Infinity. As a reminder, the pirates would have used Tornado Cash, the cryptocurrency mixing platform, to realize their package. It was used to launder a large amount of profits. In response to these allegations, the Treasury Department stripped the mixer of its right to exercise in the USA. While the recovery of part of the stolen money is in the pipeline, it was expected that the lines of the government move.
For the moment, nothing seems to have gone in this direction. You will notice that this sanction is unprecedented in the United States, it is also the subject of several debates. Since it could be a threat to privacy and even to innovations, warns a member of the American Congress. He expects Congress to start asking questions about this move by the Treasury Department. In the same vein, Tom Emmer of the show “First Mover” of CoinDesk also has some reservations. “I didn’t want to give the impression of being totally against thee do let OFAC look at this. » He will even go further by stating that: My problem is that this software to controleby code, not by a person or entity. So if you think about it, the Tornado Cash sanction is an unprecedented change by the Office of Foreign Asset Control in its sanctioning policy.. »
One thing is certain, the war against pirates continues to claim collateral victims. Despite the recovery of 30 million out of the 600 million stolen, the sanction of the American government remains effective. There will be more doubts about confidentiality and the use of innovative tools.
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new service of daily and weekly so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
