Crypto digital detective ZachXBT discovered a suspicious account that has allegedly been laundering funds via digital asset mixer Tornado Cash and spending the bulk of the assets on the acquisition of Magic The Gathering (MTG) trading cards.<\/span><\/p>\n Tornado Cash is the sanction mixer notorious for facilitating money laundering transactions<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the crypto sleuth, he has been tracking this wallet since the beginning of 2023. The owner of the wallet in question has withdrawn<\/a><\/span> \u201c110 X 100 ETH from Tornado to 11 addresses\u201d and exchanges like Kraken, Bitpay, and Coinbase while leveraging an interesting strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n 2\/ This person has withdrawn 110 X 100 ETH from Tornado to 11 addresses. <\/p>\n After they would: <\/p>\n (this is a strategy used to trick KYT at exchanges) pic.twitter.com\/p8zMOWTiVR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ZachXBT (@zachxbt) December 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n First, the wallet owner wraps the withdrawn Ethereum and thereafter, he transfers the wrapped Ethereum (wETH) to a new address. While in this address, the tokens are unwrapped and swapped to United States dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC. Next, the USDC is transferred to the MTG broker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oftentimes, this strategy is used to deceive the Know-Your-Transaction requirements of certain crypto exchanges.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once he uncovered the strategy, ZachXBT immediately went in search of the MTG broker that received the stablecoin. He found that he had on Instagram the same username as that on the Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea. Then, he approached a few MTG sellers that the broker had interacted with on-chain to get a deeper insight on who he is.<\/span><\/p>\n At this point, the Tornado Cash transactions had gotten quite interesting. It happened to be that the buyer was spending millions on starter decks, alpha sets, and sealed boxes. Also, the broker seems to have hiked the value a little further as it looked like the buyer was overpaying by about 5-10%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another discrepancy that ZachXBT noticed was the fact that the buyer had no idea who the seller was and vice versa, even though the buyer had sent crypto upfront. It was the broker who met with the seller IRL. In the long run, it turned out that the broker had only a little knowledge of crypto. ZachXBT suspects that he may not even be familiar with Tornado Cash and whether the crypto mixer is a favorite tool used by hackers<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n The crypto detector thinks that the owner of this wallet may be the Uranium Finance hacker from earlier this year. He is yet to fully confirm his suspicions but he\u2019s convinced he has a thesis that conveniently adds up.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2713 Share:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture. Follow him on Twitter<\/a>, Linkedin<\/a> <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p><\/div>\nSuspected Tornado Cash Laundering Scheme<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
1) Wrap the ETH
2) Transfer WETH to new address
3) Unwrap the WETH
4) Transfer USDC to MTG broker<\/p>\nZachXBT Suspects Uranium Hacker<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/733ca3c15c1fbb2629eeb51edb886efb?s=200&d=mm&r=g\")