Cryptocurrency hackers took advantage of the recent market crash, using stolen funds to buy heavily discounted Ether. On August 5, hackers bought 16,892 Ether with stolen cryptocurrency linked to the 2022 Nomad bridge hack. This move coincided with Ether’s price drop of over 20%, from approximately $2,760 to $2,172, within 12 hours, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that the Nomad bridge hacker used 39.75 million stolen Dai tokens to acquire 16,892 ETH. Shortly after the purchase, the hacker transferred the stolen funds to the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, which obscures onchain traceability, making it difficult to recover the stolen assets.
Further investigations by PeckShield revealed that the Nomad hacker also sent 17.75 ETH to an intermediary Ethereum address. By the time of reporting, the hacker had moved about 2,400 ETH, worth roughly $7 million, to Tornado Cash.
The recent activities aren’t limited to the Nomad hack. Funds stolen from the Pancake Bunny hack three years ago were also in motion amid the market downturn. The hacker swapped their stolen Dai tokens for ETH. However, blockchain investigator Officer CIA noted a mistake where 3.6 million Dai was sent to a Dai stablecoin address.
Pancake Bunny, a DeFi protocol on the BNB Smart Chain, was targeted by a flash loan attack in 2021. On July 8, the Pancake Bunny hacker siphoned off $2.9 million worth of Ether through Tornado Cash.
These incidents highlight the ongoing issue of stolen funds being used to exploit market conditions, emphasizing the need for improved security measures within the crypto space.
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