The mastermind behind the $25 million Kronos Research hack has just moved an additional $2.6 million worth of Ether to the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash. The transfer, which consisted of 700 Ether, took place on May 21 and was reported by on-chain security firm PeckShield.
The hacker sent three transactions of 100 Ether each on May 20, followed by seven more transactions of 100 ETH each today, bringing the total to 1,000 Ether worth over $3.7 million at today’s price. Despite this transfer, the wallet still holds a little over 60 ETH, valued at over $223,000. On May 19, the hacker’s wallet reached a peak value of over $6.4 million, according to CoinStats data.
The decision to launder the funds is likely a result of Ether’s rapid price surge. Over the past 24 hours, Ether’s price has risen over 20% to reach $3,744 as of 11:14 am UTC. The last time Ether traded above $3,700 was on March 15, according to CoinMarketCap.
This Ether rally comes after reports that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reversed its stance on spot Ether ETFs, possibly due to political pressure. Reports suggest that the SEC has asked ETF exchanges to update their 19b-4 filings. Adding to the positive investor sentiment, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has increased the odds of approval for Ether ETFs to 75% from just 25%.
Crypto mixing protocols like Tornado Cash are used to conceal the origins of crypto transactions, making it extremely difficult to trace the source of funds. Exploiters often utilize these services when laundering funds obtained through illicit activities. This is not the first time the Kronos Research hacker has used Tornado Cash to launder stolen funds. On May 7, the exploiter transferred 1,314 Ether worth over $4 million to the same service.
The Kronos Capital hack occurred in November 2023 when the hackers gained access to the firm’s application programming interface keys. Initially, the company denied any loss of funds. However, on-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that approximately 12,800 ETH worth $25 million was stolen and transferred to six different crypto wallets. Kronos Capital suspended its trading services to investigate the incident.