North Korea Converts $124 Million in Stolen Binance Funds Into Bitcoin - bloomingbit
A North Korean hacking group has converted approximately $124 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency from Binance into Bitcoin, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
The conversion represents about 1,650 BTC and marks a significant acceleration in money laundering efforts following the massive breach. Elliptic reported that 16 blockchains, over 20,000 wallets, and at least 36 services have been used to launder the stolen funds, with related transactions exceeding 65,000.
Accelerated Laundering
Most of the stolen Solana has been sold, swapped, or moved to other blockchains, with much ultimately converted into Bitcoin. XRP transactions began intensifying on November 5, with about 42 million XRP worth roughly $50 million being drained and mostly exchanged into Bitcoin.
Mixing activity to make the funds harder to trace is also continuing. Since Nov. 1, about 33 BTC has been routed through Wasabi-style CoinJoin transactions, while about $1.1 million worth of Ether and SOL passed through Privacy Cash.
Remaining Assets
Of the total $643 million stolen in the hack, approximately $285 million has been frozen, while about $311 million remains in addresses linked to the theft. The main Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings have not yet moved, though Elliptic noted that smaller tranches of ETH could later be converted into Bitcoin and cashed out through over-the-counter brokers.
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