• A wallet associated with the $50 million exploit of Uranium Finance in April 2021 has suddenly moved funds to crypto mixer Tornado Cash after 647 days.
• The same hacker has been linked to other wallets that have shifted funds to privacy networks such as Aztec.
• This is the latest instance in 2023 of a hacker’s wallet reawakening after a lengthy period of dormancy.

Uranium Finance Hacker Awakens

The hacker behind the $50 million exploit of Uranium Finance in April 2021 appears to have reawakened after 647 days, moving funds towards crypto mixer Tornado Cash. According to data from Etherscan, the 2,250 Ether (ETH), worth $3.35 million was sent over a seven-hour period in transactions ranging from 1 ETH to 100 ETH – all headed towards Tornado Cash.

Other Associated Wallets

The same hacker is also linked to other Ethereum wallets which were last active 159 days ago, with 5 ETH being sent to privacy-focused Ethereum zk-rollup on Aztec. This is not the first time in 2023 that a hacker’s wallet has emerged from dormancy after a lengthy hiatus either – there have been numerous similar cases throughout this year so far:

January Activity

In January, the Wormhole hacker moved around $155 million worth of ETH almost a year after exploiting the Wormhole bridge for $321 million in early 2022; while at the same time, infamous blockchain ‚bandit‘ also shifted around $90 million after six years dormant.

February Activity

In February, the Wormhole hacker again moved another $46 million worth of stolen funds; while popular blockchain sleuth ZachXBT highlighted via Twitter on Feb 23 that „dormant funds left over“ from Gate exchange hack by North Korea had begun moving four and half years later.

Conclusion

This recent activity demonstrates how quickly and quietly hackers can move their ill-gotten gains out of sight – making it difficult for authorities or exchanges to track them down and recover lost assets.