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 boundaries for cybercriminals.
In an October 4th report Titled “The State of Cross-Chain Crime,” Elliptic researchers Eray Arda Akartuna and Thibaud Madelin delved deep into what they dubbed “the brand new frontier of crypto laundering.” The report concludes that the free movement of capital between crypto property is now extra unhindered because of the emergence of recent applied sciences like bridges and DEXs.
Cybercriminals have been utilizing cross-chain bridges, DEXs and coin swaps to obfuscate not less than $4 billion value of illicit crypto income since early 2020, the corporate reported.
A couple of third of all stolen cryptos, or about $1.2 billion, from the investigated incidents have been exchanged by means of decentralized exchanges.
The report delved additional into the small print, noting that greater than half of the recognized illicit funds have been swapped straight through two DEXs – Curve and Uniswap, with the 1-inch aggregator protocol coming in an in depth third.
The same quantity (round $1.2 billion) was laundered utilizing coin-swap providers, which permit customers to alternate property inside and between totally different networks with out having an account.
"Many are promoted on Russian cybercrime boards and are aimed virtually solely at a legal viewers," it says.
In accordance with Elliptic, sanctioned firms are more and more turning to such applied sciences to maneuver funds and launch cyberattacks.
“Wallets linked to teams finally sanctioned by the US — together with these utilized by North Korea to conduct multimillion-dollar cyberattacks — have laundered greater than $1.8 billion by means of such strategies. "
In a June report Among the many dangers of digital property, international cash laundering and terrorist financing surveillance, the Monetary Motion Activity Power (FATF) has additionally categorised cross-chain bridges and "chain hopping" as excessive danger.
Associated: $2 billion value of crypto stolen from cross-chain bridges this yr: Chainalysis
The Ren Bridge has been talked about because the best choice for crypto laundering because the overwhelming majority of illicit property or greater than $540 million go by means of it.
"Ren is especially standard with these attempting to launder the proceeds of theft," it mentioned.
A doable answer to curb crypto theft was proposed by Stanford researchers final month. It is an opt-in token customary known as the ERC-20R that gives the flexibility to reverse a transaction inside a set time frame.
