Orbit Chain Hacker Channels $47.7 Million into Tornado Cash

The hacker behind the infamous Orbit Chain hack, which looted $82 million on New Year’s Eve, has transferred $47.7 million to cryptocurrency privacy mixer Tornado Cash after five months of silence. This is reported by blockchain analysis company Arkham Intelligence.

Nearly 13,000 Ethereum sent

On June 8, a total of 12,932 Ethereum (ETH), worth $47.7 million, was moved to a new address in seven transactions. This address then sent the money to Tornado Cash. Although the hack was previously believed to have caused a loss of $82 million, recent reports from Arkham indicate a figure of nearly $100 million.

“Five months ago, more than $100 million in ETH and DAI was stolen from Orbit Chain and the perpetrators have remained silent ever since,” Arkham said on June 8.

Batches of 100 ETH at a time

The $47.7 million worth of Ethereum moved was mainly sent in batches of 100 ETH, according to data from Etherscan. However, the hacker has not yet moved the stolen $20 million worth of Dai (DAI) or other coins from the cross-chain bridge. Currently, their balance is $71.2 million, including $51.1 million in Ether and smaller amounts of Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Wrapped Ether (wETH), Orbit Chain (ORC), and USD Coin (USDC).

The hack occurred on December 31, 2023 at 8:52 PM UTC. Orbit Chain confirmed the attack the next day and stated that it was cooperating with international law enforcement agencies. The company is offering a reward of up to $8 million for information leading to identifying the attacker or recovering the stolen assets.

Significant decrease in total value in the blockchain

Orbit Chain uses the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol to transfer data and value within the Cosmos ecosystem. According to DefiLlama, the total value in the blockchain is currently almost $37 million, a drop of more than 75% from $149.25 million just before the hack on December 31. In August 2022, the value peaked at $313 million.

In the first quarter of 2024, $542.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen, a 42% increase from the same period in 2023. Notably, smart contract hacks fell 92% to $179 million in 2023, compared to $2.6 billion by 2022.