Simply put
- Blockchain detective platform ZACHXBT reports that around $21 million in cryptocurrency was stolen from an address linked to SBI Crypto, a Japanese miner.
- The stolen funds were allegedly laundered using Tornado Cash.
- SBI Crypto has yet to acknowledge any suspicious transactions.
About $21 million in cryptocurrency linked to the Japan-based mining company SBI Crypto has been described as “stolen” by blockchain experts.
ZACHXBT noted that the transferred assets included Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
He mentioned that the stolen funds were either moved to “instant exchanges” or laundered through Tornado Cash.
This incident adds to a troubling trend, with this year alone reporting over $1.4 billion in crypto thefts. This includes hacks like the $1.4 billion breach of the crypto exchange Bybit and a theft of nearly $50 million from Infini, a crypto neobank. By the end of February, the total stolen matched nearly the amount for the entire previous year.
Tornado Cash is a coin mixing service that enables users to obscure Ethereum transactions. The U.S. Treasury Department designated it as a sanctioned entity in 2022.
Authorities, including the Justice Department, assert that the Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored North Korean hacking organization, has utilized this platform for laundering stolen assets. Investigators have connected Lazarus to breaches like the Bybit incident and others, as groups often attempt to obscure stolen funds across various exchanges and apps.
ZACHXBT commented on Telegram that “several indicators show parallels with other known attacks from the Democratic Republic.”
He also pointed out that SBI Crypto has not released any official statement regarding the case.
Contacted for comment, SBI Crypto did not provide an immediate response.
SBI Crypto is part of SBI Group, a publicly traded Japanese investment firm.
Last year, the company’s crypto division, along with SBI VC Trade, experienced a significant breach that cost about $308 million in customer assets.
