North Korea’s hacker organization Lazarus has once again turned to Tornado Cash, despite U.S. sanctions against the popular cryptocurrency mixer. The blockchain analytics startup Elliptic revealed on March 14 that Lazarus had channeled $12 million into the Ethereum-based crypto tumbler. These funds, denominated in Ether (ETH), stemmed from a November hack on Justin Sun’s HTX and the exchange’s cross-chain solution, Heco Bridge.

Elliptic, along with several other on-chain security firms, uncovered that Lazarus had carried out a $100 million attack on the two platforms last year. The stolen funds had remained inactive until March 13, when the notorious North Korean hacker group initiated the process of laundering the pilfered HTX assets.

According to Elliptic’s findings, Lazarus has executed more than 40 transactions into the smart-contract-based mixer within the past 24 hours.

Despite being sanctioned by U.S. authorities in August 2022, Tornado Cash has continued to operate due to its decentralized structure, making it challenging for the government to completely shut it down. Over the years, the criminal organization has frequently utilized Tornado Cash to conceal transactions and launder illicit wealth.

In response to the sanctions, U.S. agencies targeted other options used by Lazarus Group, such as Bitcoin-based mixers Blender and Sinbad. These platforms differed from Tornado Cash as they employed a centralized model for their design, enabling law enforcement to completely shut them down.

As reported by crypto.news, citing Chainalysis data, the crackdown led to a 29% decrease in crypto money laundering throughout 2023, as Lazarus and other malicious actors faced challenges in off-ramping looted funds.

Despite the enforcement actions and regulatory takedowns by U.S. authorities, the return of the North Korean syndicate to Tornado Cash indicates a scarcity of large-scale mixers in the market. This scarcity can be attributed to the impact of U.S. enforcement measures and regulatory interventions.

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