US authorities, with the help of blockchain analyst Chainalysis, have recovered $30 million in crypto stolen from axie infinity in March. It’s only a fraction of the $625 million the play-to-win game lost to the North Korea-linked hacking unit known as the Lazarus Group, but it’s a significant achievement for law enforcement and the crypto community. Chainalysis says this is the first time a stolen cryptocurrency has been seized by a group of North Korean hackers.
As the analyst explains, North Korea-linked groups typically use Tornado Cash to mix Ether, but the US sanctions on the mixer forced them to employ alternative techniques. now they use block chain bridges to switch between different types of digital currencies in an effort to hide the source of their funds, and the analyst had the necessary tools to track those cross-chain movements.
Apparently, most of the funds stolen from axie infinity they remain on the blockchain, showing that bad actors are having a hard time moving the stolen assets and converting them into fiat currency. Chainalysis seems confident that this will not be the last time funds stolen from these hacking groups are recovered.
According to Bleeping Computer, news about the fundraising was announced at the ongoing AxieCon event. The publishers of the game have revealed that the money recovered by the authorities will be gradually moved to Axie Infinity treasury and then back to your community of players. However, it will not be a quick process and could take several years to achieve.
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