Transaction data associated with crypto wallets used in the infamous Twitter hack suggests that out of the total of $123,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC), about 22% (approx. 2.89 BTC) was sent to an address, that blockchain analysis firm Elliptic believes is a Wasabi wallet.
Hackers Using Wasabi Wallet to Erase Digital Trail
According to a report by Elliptic, close to 22% of BTC swindled by Twitter hacker/group of hackers was recently transferred to an address that the firm “strongly believes” to be part of a Wasabi Wallet.
For the uninitiated, Wasabi Wallet is a type of bitcoin wallet that can be used to hide transaction trails, thereby making it tough for law enforcement agencies or financial institutions to easily trace funds on the blockchain.
Elliptic says it has been able to identify the likely use of this wallet after having developed a unique capability to identify Wasabi wallet addresses “based on distinctive transaction patterns.”
The report reads in part:
“The use of this type of wallet by those laundering the proceeds of the Twitter hack is not surprising. One of the most common techniques used by law enforcement to identify the perpetrators of this kind of attack is to follow the money trail to the point of cash-out.”
Adding:
“Most crypto exchanges identify their customers through KYC checks, and this identity information is used by law enforcement to identify the fraudsters. The use of Wasabi Wallet makes it much more difficult to trace the funds in this way.”
Difficult to Pin-Point the Origin of Funds
Elliptic expect the hackers to cash-out their spoils through one or more crypto exchanges. However, this, by no means would be an easy task to accomplish as pretty much all crypto exchanges are keeping a close eye on the funds being moved around by the hackers.
Further, the use of blockchain monitoring tools helps exchanges check the provenance of any bitcoin transaction they receive. If exchanges find any incoming BTC transactions from suspected wallets, they would likely immediately freeze the funds and inform law enforcement agencies.
That said, the use of Wasabi wallet to move the funds around is not good news for exchanges that are typically able to identify their clients using KYC checks.
As reported by BTCManager, the Twitter hack that culminated in several high-profile accounts being compromised is not being taken lightly by U.S. law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI are leading an inquiry into the security breach.
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