Following the $28 million Deribit hack, an unidentified hacker has transferred 1,610 ETH (worth over $2.5 million) to Tornado Cash, a decentralized cryptocurrency mixer.
According to information from the Ethereum block explorer Etherscan, the Deribit hot wallet hacker sent 1,610 Ether, or almost $2.5 million, to Tornado Cash.
The money moved over the course of 17 transactions, with the first one taking place on November 5—just a few days after Deribit was hacked.
Only a small portion of the stolen ETH on the hacker’s account has been transferred to Tornado Cash, which now has a balance of 7,501 ETH ($11.8 million). On November 2, the hacker transmitted 9,080 ETH to the address for the first time.
On November 5, the blockchain analytics tool PeckShield published a report on the departing Tornado Cash transactions. At the moment, a little under $350,000 was taken out of the hacker’s ETH wallet.
Deribit formally disclosed that on Nov. 2, a hot wallet hack on its network resulted in the loss of $28 million in several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin BTC, ETH, and USD Coin USDC.
Deribit Hack
Following the attack, the exchange had to cease all withdrawals in order to ensure sufficient security while making a commitment to pay for all losses.
On Nov. 2, the company began routine withdrawals for BTC, ETH, and USDC after transferring all hot wallets to the Fireblocks platform for digital asset protection.
Deribit emphasized that consumers should use the new Fireblocks deposit addresses rather than sending money to their old BTC, ETH, and USDC addresses.
The news comes amid lingering ambiguity around Tornado Cash and other cryptocurrency mixers following restrictions imposed by US regulators on the mixer.
In August 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control blacklisted Tornado Cash, making it unlawful for citizens, residents, and businesses to receive or send money through the service.
Asserting that the sanctioning of Tornado Cash was “unusual and unlawful,” the cryptocurrency advocacy group Coin Center filed a lawsuit in October against OFAC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and OFAC Director Andrea Gacki.
