The perpetrator behind the massive $82 million Orbit Chain exploit on New Year’s Eve has reemerged, transferring nearly $48 million worth of stolen Ether (ETH) to cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. This movement marks the first activity from the hacker in five months.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, a total of 12,932 ETH, valued at roughly $47.7 million, was shifted across seven transactions on June 8th. The funds were sent to a new address before being funneled into Tornado Cash, a service notorious for obfuscating the trail of cryptocurrency transactions.
Recent updates from Arkham suggest the total loss from the Orbit Chain hack might be closer to $100 million, exceeding initial reports of $82 million. “They stole over $100M in ETH and DAI from Orbit Chain 5 months ago, and have been silent since,” stated Arkham in a social media post on June 8th.
Etherscan data reveals the $47.7 million in ETH was transferred through Tornado Cash primarily in batches of 100 ETH. Notably, the hacker hasn’t touched the remaining stolen assets, including $20 million worth of Dai (DAI) and other cryptocurrencies extracted during the cross-chain bridge exploit.
The hacker’s current holdings stand at approximately $71.2 million, comprising $51.1 million in ETH, along with smaller amounts of wrapped-Bitcoin (wBTC), wrapped-Ether (wETH), Orbit Chain’s native token (ORC), and USD Coin (USDC).
The Orbit Chain hack transpired on December 31st, 2023, at around 8:52 PM UTC, during the final hours of the year. The project confirmed the exploit the following day and pledged active collaboration with international law enforcement. Orbit Chain even offered a hefty bounty of $8 million for crucial information leading to the attacker’s identification or asset recovery.
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Built on the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC), Orbit Chain facilitates data and value transfer within the Cosmos ecosystem. Despite the recent exploit, DefiLlama indicates the chain still holds nearly $37 million in total value locked (TVL). However, this figure represents a significant decline of over 75% compared to the $149.25 million TVL recorded just before the December 31st attack. Notably, Orbit Chain’s TVL peaked at $313 million in August 2022.
The Orbit Chain incident highlights the ongoing struggle against cryptocurrency theft. While overall smart contract hacks have witnessed a significant decrease in 2023 compared to 2022, the year’s first quarter still saw a troubling 42% rise in stolen cryptocurrencies, totaling $542.7 million.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.
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