KEY POINTS

  • 10% of funds stolen in the Ronin Bridge attack have been recovered
  • The funds were recently moved to the Bitcoin Network from Ethereum Network
  • Chainalysis used advanced tracing techniques to follow the funds to the cash-out point

Renowned blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has helped the U.S. law enforcement authorities seize $30 million that were part of the funds stolen from Axie Infinity's Ronin Bridge earlier this year.

This is the first time that law enforcement agencies have successfully seized crypto tokens from the infamous Lazarus Group belonging to North Korea, the blockchain intelligence firm said in a statement Thursday.

Chainalysis estimated that "North Korea-linked groups have stolen approximately $1 billion of cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols," particularly cross-chain bridges, i.e., protocols related to the connection between two blockchains.

Ronin Bridge hack was the biggest DeFi hack to date, according to data from Rekt, the hackers made away with almost $624 million. This was followed by 2021's Poly Network attack, in which hackers drained $611 million of user and protocol funds.

"With the help of law enforcement and leading organizations in the cryptocurrency industry, more than $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean-linked hackers has been seized. This marks the first time ever that cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized, and we're confident it won't be the last," Chainalysis confirmed in its blog post.

The Chainalysis Crypto Incident Response Team used "advanced tracing techniques" and followed the funds that were migrated from one blockchain to another before reaching the cash-out point. The team then requested law enforcement agencies to freeze the accounts at the cash-out point.

The intelligence firm also noted that the recovered $30 million represented approximately 10% of the stolen funds after accounting for the price drop in the crypto space in recent weeks.

"We have proven that with the right blockchain analysis tools, world-class investigators and compliance professionals can collaborate to stop even the most sophisticated hackers and launderers," Chainalysis added.

Blockchain investigator and developer ₿liteZero earlier revealed that the Lazarus Group had successfully transferred their funds from Ethereum to the Bitcoin network.

In-game assets called 'Axies' are seen in this undated handout image from the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, which is owned by Sky Mavis. Sky Mavis/Handout via REUTERS
In-game assets called 'Axies' are seen in this undated handout image from the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, which is owned by Sky Mavis. Sky Mavis/Handout via REUTERS Reuters / Sky Mavis
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