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Binance Hack Update: North Korea Used Elon Musk’s Face to Launder Money
North Korea used an Elon Musk meme coin to launder Binance hack money, Elliptic says. See how the scheme works.
Brief
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said North Korean hackers are minting meme coins to launder money stolen from Binance. One token shows Elon Musk under a 2028 presidential banner, though Elliptic says he has no link to them. About 117,000 NEAR, roughly $430,000 by its estimate, has passed through six such tokens, each launched for about $90. Each token was paired with NEAR in a decentralized exchange liquidity pool, with one group of wallets buying and another selling back. The FBI has attributed the $6.4 billion October theft to North Korea. Elliptic urged exchanges that already accepted these funds to re-check them, and noted the remaining 11.8 million stolen NEAR, which it values at $43.7 million, has not moved.
Why it matters: Stolen funds can apparently be moved through meme tokens and liquidity pools, leaving exchanges that already took deposits needing to review them.
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North Korea-linked hackers use fake meme coins to launder NEAR
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