PeckShield Reports Hacker Launders $24 Million Stolen aEthUSDC via DEXs and Mixers

Security researchers detail how the attacker converted millions in stolen aEthUSDC into Monero and moved funds through centralized exchanges and Tornado Cash to obscure transaction trails.

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Summary

PeckShield confirmed that the hacker who stole $24 million in Sillytuna’s aEthUSDC exchanged roughly $2 million in DAI and ETH for 6,174.4 Monero (XMR) on Hyperliquid. Approximately $6.5 million in USDC and USDT were transferred to centralized exchanges including OKX, MEXC, and Bitkan, while 375 ETH was laundered via Tornado Cash, indicating a multi-layered effort to conceal the stolen assets across various blockchain platforms.

Terms & Concepts
  • aEthUSDC: A synthetic token representing interest-bearing USDC assets on the Ethereum network.
  • Tornado Cash: An Ethereum mixer that uses smart contracts to anonymize crypto transactions.
  • Monero (XMR): A privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to conceal sender, receiver, and amount information via advanced cryptography.