Following the recent security breach of the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, Radiant Capital, the individual or group behind the exploit has bridged nearly all stolen assets from layer-2 scaling solutions to the Ethereum network.
According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the hacker moved about 20,500 ETH worth around $52 million from Layer 2 networks Arbitrum and Binance BNB Chain to the Ethereum network on Thursday.
#PeckShieldAlert #RadiantCapital Exploiter -labeled addresses have bridged nearly all stolen funds from #Arbitrum and #BNBChain to #Ethereum, totaling ~20.5K $ETH (worth ~$52M). pic.twitter.com/JquCL84hZl
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 24, 2024
The recent development poses significant challenges for the DeFi protocol and affected victims waiting for the refund of their lost funds, as evidence suggests the Radiant Capital hacker relocated the stolen funds to the Ethereum network, potentially to conceal transaction histories and hinder recovery attempts.
Radiant Capital Loses Over $50M to Security Breach
On October 16, Radiant Capital suffered a sophisticated security breach that caused the DeFi protocol to lose over $52 million to the hackers.
The exploit occurred during the protocol’s RIZ BSC market launch celebration. Specifically, the hacker compromised the devices of at least three core developers through malware injection. This breach granted the hacker unauthorized access to the multi-signature wallet, enabling the signing of malicious transactions and subsequent theft of funds from the BNB Chain and Arbitrum networks.
Following the incident, Radiant Capital halted its lending markets and enlisted the expertise of security specialists like SEAL911, Hypernative, ZeroShadow, and Chainalysis to investigate and mitigate the security breach.
The recent hack marks the second significant security breach for the DeFi protocol. Earlier this year, Radiant Capital, temporarily suspended lending and borrowing operations on Arbitrum due to a $4.5 million exploit targeting one of its newly launched USDC markets.
Hackers Exploit Ethereum Protocols to Launder Stolen Funds
The Radiant Capital hack is just one example of the persistent problem of hackers exploiting Ethereum-based protocol for money laundering.
Notable examples include the high-profile breaches of Axie Infinity ($622M), Poly Network ($610M), and Harmony Horizon Bridge ($100M), where Tornado Cash was utilized to launder illicit funds.
Last month, the perpetrator responsible for the $27 million security breach targeting Penpie, another DeFi project like Radiant Capital, utilized the Tornado Cash crypto mixer to launder approximately $7 million of the stolen funds.
