Tornado Cash Used to Launder Nearly All of $230 Million in Stolen

The hacker who skillfully hacked the WazirX server in July this year and stole $230 million equivalent in crypto is close to cleaning up the money. Statistics reveal that to date, $6 m worth of Ether tokens are left, the majority of which have passed through Tornado Cash, a service that helps to obscure wallet addresses on blockchains. 

The concentration on laundering activity according to the data was maximum in August and September and the most recent transaction of 3,792 ETH, approximately $10 million recorded this week.

Tornado Cash in the Spotlight

Despite its legal functionality and ban on its use, Tornado Cash has been in the news after being used by criminals attempting to hide the provenance of their funds. In May, the Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was found guilty of money laundering and received 64 months imprisonment. The use of the service in the WazirX hack has further deepened apprehensions about the service’s contribution to cybercrime.

Is Their Relief for WazirX as They Struggle to Recover Funds

The hack, which impacted over 45% of its reserves, was both a financial and reputational disaster for WazirX, which is India’s largest exchange. While necessary attempts to reclaim the stolen money have been made, WazirX still took significant flak over the process of handling the crisis, including user outreach and avenues for restitution. 

The exchange has since sought a restructuring in Singapore, but it is still very likely to recover.

Just yesterday, an Indian YouTuber and crypto influencer, Aditya Singh, released a thread of tweets stating that the Wazirx team is misleading the hacked percentage of funds. From his research, he believes that 42% of funds were lost and not 45% as claimed by the team which further puts Wazirx in the radar and doubts.

While the hacker completes the money laundering process, WazirX is still recovering from one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists in India.