Share this article
Hackers Are Shuffling Binance's Stolen Bitcoin
The Binance hackers are moving their stolen BTC into smaller and smaller wallets in an effort to hide their tracks.
By John Biggs
Updated May 2, 2022, 3:59 p.m. Published May 8, 2019, 5:56 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
A team at blockchain services company Coinfirm has been watching the erratic movements of the bitcoin associated with $40 million stolen in the latest Binance breach.
At 4:11 AM on May 8 the hacker or hackers moved 1214 BTC ($7.16 million) to new addresses and then moved another 1337 "to 2 new addresses held by the hacker."
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
This is the fourth major exchange hack of the year, following Cryptopia, DragonEx and Bithumb.
Image via Coinfirm
The hack took place at 5:15:24PM on May 7 when hackers dragged over 7,000 bitcoin from a single Binance hot wallet into in a number of smaller wallets in a single transaction. The hackers then moved small amounts into smaller wallets. Given the nature of the BTC blockchain it's easy to see where each Binance bitcoin is going but it is difficult to perform real forensics on the wallets in order to understand who - or what - created them.
According to @Coinfirm_io analysis the @Binance hacker has recently moved over 1214 #BTC (~$7.16M) to new addresses
— Coinfirm (@Coinfirm_io) May 8, 2019
But almost 5786 BTC (~$34.14M) still sit on the #Binance hackers original addresses
More exclusive insights coming!https://t.co/CdRIXAT8dC pic.twitter.com/YUVrHeVOhn
The #Binance hacker just moved the funds again!
— Coinfirm (@Coinfirm_io) May 8, 2019
Coinfirm analysis shows 1227 #BTC of the #BinanceHack funds moved to 2 new addresses held by the hacker(Red bubbles)
One holds 707 BTC the other 520 BTC
Below is also a Coinfirm #aml Risk Report of one https://t.co/CdRIXAT8dC pic.twitter.com/c2VZwtfub6
The funds have moved again #binancehack #btc @AMLT_Token https://t.co/rstGxwURx6
— Coinfirm (@Coinfirm_io) May 8, 2019
Why the brisk back and forth movement? Writer and blockchain analyst Amy Castor thinks the hackers are trying to erase their tracks.
"Money laundering 101: breaking the transactions up into smaller and smaller amounts making them more and more difficult to track," she said.
Image via Coinfirm
Image via Shutterstock
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Bitcoin climbs above $89,000 as U.S. dollar tumbles on President Trump's remarks
The president said he isn't concerned about the dollar's recent declines, sending the greenback plunging even lower.
What to know:
- Bitcoin rallied above $89,000 as remarks by President Trump sent the dollar to its lowest level in nearly four years.
- Gold rose to a new record above $5,200 per ounce following the president's comments.
- One analyst is seeing a bullish technical divergence which could send bitcoin back to $95,000 in short order.
Top Stories
