150 billion stolen Shiba Inu tokens from the Bitrue hack are being swapped and laundered, as malicious actors move the assets through Tornado Cash to obscure their trail.
Details Emerge on Stolen Shiba Inu Tokens Conversion
Blockchain security firm PeckShield recently alerted the crypto community to significant movements from wallet addresses associated with the 2023 Bitrue exchange exploit. On-chain data revealed the malicious actors swapped a massive 150 billion Shiba Inu tokens (SHIB), along with approximately 756 million Holo (HOT) tokens.
These assets were converted into roughly 1,500 Ether (ETH). Following the swap, the exploiters quickly moved to obscure the funds’ origins, transferring 1,050 ETH directly into Tornado Cash, a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing service designed to break the on-chain link between sender and receiver addresses.
Context: The 2023 Bitrue Exchange Hack
This recent activity is tied to a significant security breach that occurred in April 2023. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue suffered a cyberattack targeting one of its hot wallets, leading to an estimated loss of $23 million in various digital assets at the time. The theft included a diverse range of tokens, and the perpetrators have been periodically moving these funds since the initial incident. The movement of large quantities of specific assets, like the Shiba Inu tokens, often occurs when exploiters attempt to consolidate holdings or prepare for cashing out.