Hackers Utilize Stolen Funds to Purchase Ethereum During Price Decline

Cryptocurrency hackers seized the opportunity presented by the ongoing market downturn to acquire heavily discounted Ether using funds pilfered from previous cyber heists. Specifically, on August 5, a significant amount of 16,892 Ether was purchased utilizing cryptocurrency funds obtained illicitly in a hack targeting the crypto bridge Nomad back in August 2022. During this period, Ether experienced a sharp decline of over 20% in value, plummeting from around $2,760 to $2,172 within a mere 12-hour timeframe, as reported by data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

The exploiters behind the Nomad bridge breach leveraged 39.75 million stolen Dai tokens to secure the 16,892 ETH. Following the acquisition, the hacker promptly initiated the transfer of the ill-gotten gains to the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash. It is a common tactic for crypto hackers to utilize such mixing services like Tornado Cash to obfuscate the traceability of on-chain transactions, often with no intention of returning the stolen assets.

Further insights from Lookonchain revealed that the Nomad exploiter concurrently dispatched 17.75 ETH to an intermediary Ethereum address. At the time of reporting, the hacker had funneled approximately 2,400 ETH, equivalent to roughly $7 million, into Tornado Cash. Concurrently, stolen assets associated with the Pancake Bunny hack from three years ago have also been set in motion amidst the prevailing market volatility.

In a bid to capitalize on the reduced cryptocurrency valuations, the hacker converted their purloined DAI tokens into ETH. However, blockchain investigator Officer CIA highlighted that a mishap led to the erroneous transfer of 3.6 million DAI to a DAI stablecoin address. Pancake Bunny, a decentralized finance protocol operating on the BNB Smart Chain, fell prey to a flash loan attack in 2021.

It is crucial to underscore that sending crypto tokens to incompatible wallets can result in irreversible loss of assets. Notably, on July 8, the Pancake Bunny hacker managed to siphon $2.9 million worth of Ether through Tornado Cash. Hackers are adept at leveraging market fluctuations to their advantage, showcasing a constant need for vigilance and robust security measures within the cryptocurrency landscape.