Hopes soar as ZKasino multisig receives $20M in bridged ETH, raising possibilities of a refund.

ZKasino, a blockchain-based gambling project, has received over $20 million worth of bridged Ether (ETH) back into its wallet, nearly three weeks after being accused of an exit scam. The funds were returned to the project’s multisignature wallet on May 9, raising hopes that investors may be able to recover their funds. The return of 6,021 wrapped Lido staking ETH (wstETH) represents about two-thirds of the total amount that went missing during the scam. ZKasino initially promised to return the bridged Ethereum to users but instead transferred it to the staking protocol Lido Finance. The alleged founder of the project, going by the pseudonym “Derivatives Monke,” was arrested by Dutch authorities on April 29, and assets worth $12.2 million were seized. Despite the arrest, there are indications that illicit funds are still being moved on-chain, suggesting the involvement of additional attackers. However, the recent return of funds to ZKasino’s wallet has given hope to the victims of the scam. In April, cryptocurrency scams and hacks resulted in a loss of $25.7 million, excluding the ZKasino incident. This is the lowest recorded figure since 2021, according to data from CertiK. The Lazarus Group, known for its involvement in hacking activities, has laundered over $200 million in hacked crypto since 2020.