Ethereum News Today: Infini Hacker Liquidates 1,771 ETH Worth $7.44 Million Amid Price Surge

A hacker responsible for a $49.5 million breach at crypto neobank Infini earlier this year has liquidated part of the stolen assets. According to an X post by Lookonchain, the individual has recently sold 1,771 ETH, valued at $7.44 million, at approximately $4,202 per ETH. Despite a continued series of transactions, the hacker still holds 9,154 ETH, valued at $38.85 million[1].

The Infini breach occurred on February 24, when the attacker exploited retained administrative privileges to drain funds from the platform. A blockchain analytics firm, Cyvers, reported that the attacker was a former Infini developer who had access to a private key linked to an account with withdrawal permissions. The funds were drained in two transactions: one worth $11.45 million and the other $38.06 million[2].

The stolen USDC was first converted to Dai (DAI) and then swapped for 17,696 ETH at $2,798 each. The assets were moved to a secondary address before portions were sent through Tornado Cash. Cyvers noted that the attacker maintained administrative access for over 100 days without detection[3].

In response, Infini founder Christian Li publicly acknowledged the incident, attributing it to negligence in transferring authority. Li assured users that liquidity remained unaffected and withdrawals would continue. The team also pledged full compensation if recovery failed and offered the hacker 20% of the stolen amount for the return of assets[4].

The hacker conducted major transactions in July, including sending 4,501 ETH worth $15.03 million to Tornado Cash on July 17. This followed the sale of 1,770 ETH for $5.88 million at $3,321 per ETH[5]. The exploiter’s strategy of moving funds during periods of ETH price increases has drawn attention from blockchain analysts tracking the flow of stolen assets.

The Infini breach occurred just days before a separate major incident involving crypto exchange Bybit, which lost $1.4 billion in Ethereum and related tokens. Arkham Intelligence attributed the Bybit hack to the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group, linking it to prior attacks[6].

According to Chainalysis, more than $2.2 billion in crypto was stolen last year, with half of the theft attributed to North Korean groups. The Infini case remains under active monitoring, with investigators tracking remaining holdings and potential attempts to move or cash out funds[7].

Source:

[1] Infini Hack Exploiter Moves $7.44 Million in Ethereum Amid Price Surge (https://cryptonewsland.com/infini-hack-exploiter-moves-7-44-million-in-e/)