YoMix: The New Favorite of Lazarus for Crypto Laundering
The North Korean hacker group Lazarus, notorious for its large-scale cryptocurrency thefts, has shifted to using the Bitcoin mixer YoMix to launder stolen funds. This was reported by the analytics firm Chainalysis, which noted that the group adapted its money laundering methods after several governments imposed sanctions on other Bitcoin mixing services previously used by the hackers.
YoMix saw a significant influx of funds in 2023. According to experts, this surge is not due to the service’s growing popularity, but rather to the malicious activities of Lazarus. Laundering cryptocurrency is just one part of the North Korean hackers’ operations, but it is crucial for financing the group’s activities and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Major Crypto Heists by Lazarus
- In March 2022, Lazarus hacked Ronin Network (Axie Infinity), stealing $625 million.
- In June 2022, they breached Harmony Horizon, resulting in $100 million in losses.
- In July 2023, they stole $60 million in cryptocurrency from Alphapo.
From January 2017 to December 2023, North Korean hacker groups—including Lazarus, Kimsuky, and Andariel—collectively stole about $3 billion in cryptocurrency. The stolen funds were funneled through various mixing services that did not comply with anti-money laundering measures and accepted deposits even from wallets flagged as suspicious.
Sanctions and Evolving Tactics
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned several such platforms, including Blender, Tornado Cash, and Sinbad, all of which were used by Lazarus to launder funds. However, after each sanction, Lazarus quickly found new platforms. Chainalysis points out that YoMix is the latest service adopted by the hackers.
Trends in Crypto Laundering
Chainalysis experts also found that in 2023, cryptocurrency wallet addresses flagged as suspicious sent $22.2 billion to crypto services, a significant decrease from $31.5 billion in 2022. However, the use of cross-chain bridges grew sharply: $743 million was transferred via bridges in 2023, compared to $312 million in 2022.