More than 60% of ETH deposits to Tornado Cash in 2024 originated from high-risk sources, including accounts linked to major crypto hacks.
According to a Global Ledger report shared with ethdaily.net, over $552 million in stolen cryptocurrency was laundered via cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash between Jan.1 and Nov. 27.
Tornado Cash received a total of 457,768 ETH, valued at around $1.64 billion at current prices, during this period. The majority of these funds came from high-risk sources, and over 56% of the total amount was linked to crypto hacks that occurred in 2023 and 2024.
This is a noticeable jump from 2023, when Tornado Cashhandled314,740 ETH in withdrawals.
TheWazirX hackin July was the largest contributor this year, with the attackerfunneling61,698 ETH, worth around $217.2 million, through the mixing service.
Funds from theHeco Bridge hackcame second, with 52,281 ETH ($189.1 million) laundered. The hack originally transpired in 2023, but the attackerlaunderedthe funds in March this year.
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Similarly, hackers behind the Poloniex breachfunneled18,874 ETH ($68.4 million) through Tornado Cash. Meanwhile, 12,930 ETH ($46.8 million) came from theOrbit Chain exploit.
Lastly, the Penpie exploitadded11,261 ETH, worth $40.8 million, to the mixer’s illicit transactions.
Tornado Cash wassanctionedby the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for its role in facilitating money laundering. The regulator alleged that since 2019, the service processed over$7 billionin illicit funds, including $455 million linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Recently, a U.S. Courtruledthat the Treasury overstepped its authority by sanctioning some of Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts.
The Global Ledger report warned that this ruling creates a “dangerous precedent” that could hinder global efforts to combat financial crime in the crypto space, stating that “bad actors may launder even larger amounts of cryptocurrency” as regulators face challenges enforcing compliance.
The decision could also shake investor confidence and prompt regulators to impose stricter rules, “which could mean legitimate businesses face heightened scrutiny and tighter reporting requirements,” the report added.
Read more:Tornado Cash ruling lays dangerous precedent: crypto lawyers.cn-block-related-link