Crypto's Most Wanted

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⭐️Today's selection:

🚔Crypto's Most Wanted
🎉Some Good News
👌Selected Meme of The Day
📰Bite-Sized News

CRYPTO'S MOST WANTED

The FBI estimates that North Korean hacking groups Lazarus Group and APT38 could offload Bitcoin totalling about $40 million. They've found six wallets connected to these hackers filled with 1580 Bitcoin. And they're warning all crypto companies to stay away from these wallets.

Curious to know which wallets are in the hot seat? Here they are:

3LU8wRu4ZnXP4UM8Yo6kkTiGHM9BubgyiG
39idqitN9tYNmq3wYanwg3MitFB5TZCjWu
3AAUBbKJorvNheUFhKnep9YTwmZECxE4Nk
3PjNaSeP8GzLjGeu51JR19Q2Lu8W2Te9oc
3NbdrezMzAVVfXv5MTQJn4hWqKhYCTCJoB
34VXKa5upLWVYMXmgid6bFM4BaQXHxSUoL

Apparently, Lazarus Group and APT38 have been implicated in recent hacks of projects like Alphapo, CoinsPaid, and Atomic Wallet (not to mention others that amount to even larger sums).

You better stay away from those Lazarus-related wallets!

The question remains: Could $40 million be enough to dump the market? As we found out yesterday, it only takes $12 million in Bitcoin to manipulate the market by 1%.

First, they would need to launder the money, and only in small portions.

In April, the U.S. imposed sanctions against OTC traders for collaborating with Lazarus Group. The suspects involved in deals with North Korea operate in China and Hong Kong. Besides dealing in cryptocurrencies, these individuals also assisted hackers in buying various goods for North Korea - this includes American software, gadgets, tobacco products (it would be ironic if they're smoking American Spirit), and other goods.

On another note - what about Tornado Cash?

Tornado Cash's founders have been accused of laundering more than $1 billion, including for North Korea. They are charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Initially and to this day, it remains an open-source solution.

According to the indictment, the first founder, Roman Storm, was arrested in Washington state and is expected to appear in court. The second, Semenov, remains at large, so charges have been made in absentia.

The protocol was launched in August 2019, but there were three developers—Alexey Pertsev was also involved.

He wasn't specifically mentioned in this charge. Perhaps because he's already been arrested? And in another jurisdiction?

Indeed, in August 2022, the U.S. government banned the use of the Tornado Cash mixer. A few days later, Tornado Cash creator Alexey Pertsev was arrested in Amsterdam. He was charged with concealing illicit financial flows and money laundering. In April 2023, it was reported that Pertsev might be released under house arrest. Will he or won't he?

The situation is complex, leaving many to wonder who is truly innocent and who is not. What's clear is that working on an open-source project can now potentially lead to criminal charges, creating an extra layer of stress for all other open-source developers, and, essentially, raising the question about where do you really draw the line between the good and the bad. Despite all this legal entanglement, the main hackers are still at large.

TL;DR: The FBI has identified North Korean hacking groups Lazarus Group and APT38 as potentially possessing $40 million worth of Bitcoin from recent hacks. They've listed six wallet addresses linked to these groups and warned crypto companies to avoid them due to suspicion of illicit activity. Additionally, Tornado Cash's founders have faced accusations of laundering over $1 billion, including for North Korea, leading to arrests and a complex legal situation.

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