Blockchain
New analysis from blockchain analytics and crypto compliance agency Elliptic has revealed the extent to which cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have eliminated limitations for cybercriminals.
In an Oct. 4 report titled “The state of cross-chain crime,” Elliptic researchers Eray Arda Akartuna and Thibaud Madelin took a deep dive into what they described as “the brand new frontier of crypto laundering.” The report summarized that the free move of capital between crypto property is now extra unhindered because of the emergence of recent applied sciences equivalent to bridges and DEXs.
Cybercriminals have been utilizing cross-chain bridges, DEXs, and coin swaps to obfuscate at the very least $4 billion value of illicit crypto proceeds because the starting of 2020, it reported.
Round a 3rd of all stolen crypto, or roughly $1.2 billion, from the incidents surveyed, was swapped utilizing decentralized exchanges.
Delving additional into the small print, the report famous that greater than half of the illicit funds it recognized had been swapped straight by way of two DEXs — Curve and Uniswap, with the 1inch aggregator protocol coming a detailed third.
An analogous quantity (round $1.2 billion) has been laundered utilizing coin swap providers which permit customers to swap property inside and throughout completely different networks with out having an account.
“Many are marketed on Russian cybercrime boards and cater virtually completely to a legal viewers,” it famous.
Sanctioned entities are more and more turning to such applied sciences with a view to transfer funds and perform cyber-attacks, in line with Elliptic.
“Wallets linked to teams ultimately sanctioned by america – together with these utilized by North Korea to perpetrate multi-million-dollar cyberattacks – have laundered greater than $1.8 billion by way of such methods.”
In a June report on digital asset dangers, international cash laundering, and terrorist financing watchdog, the Monetary Motion Process Drive (FATF), additionally fingered cross-chain bridges and “chain hopping” as a excessive danger.
The Ren bridge was talked about as a best choice for crypto laundering with the overwhelming majority of illicit property, or greater than $540 million, passing by way of it.
“Ren has turn out to be significantly common with these searching for to launder the proceeds of theft,” it stated.
One potential resolution to mitigate crypto theft was proposed by Stanford researchers final month. It entails an opt-in token commonplace referred to as ERC-20R that gives the choice to reverse a transaction inside a set time interval.
