Share this article

US Government Recovers $30M From Crypto Game Axie Infinity Hack

Hackers stole over $600 million from Axie earlier this year.

Updated May 11, 2023, 6:37 p.m. Published Sep 8, 2022, 3:01 p.m.
jwp-player-placeholder

Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis announced Thursday it helped the U.S. government recover about $30 million stolen from online video game Axie Infinity earlier this year.

In a blog post, Erin Plante, senior director of investigations at Chainalysis, said law enforcement officials were able to recover the funds, which were stolen by Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking entity tied to multiple crypto thefts over recent years.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today. See all newsletters

"With the help of law enforcement and leading organizations in the cryptocurrency industry, more than $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean-linked hackers has been seized. This marks the first time ever that cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized, and we’re confident it won’t be the last," Plante said.

Hackers stole over $600 million from Axie this past spring, laundering many of the proceeds through privacy mixer Tornado Cash. The U.S. Treasury Department later sanctioned Tornado Cash for facilitating money laundering.

A Treasury Department spokesperson didn't immediately return a request for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.


More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

Small Texas Lender Monet Joining Field of Crypto-Focused Banks

(Brock Wegner/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

The bank is owned by billionaire Andy Beal, a major supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.