Nomad Bridge Hack: Cybercriminals Use Stolen Funds to Purchase Cheap ETH

Hackers involved in the 2022 Nomad bridge exploit have seized the opportunity presented by a recent market downturn to acquire Ether (ETH) at a discounted rate. On August 5, these hackers purchased 16,892 ETH as its price plummeted from about $2,760 to $2,172 within a span of 12 hours. As of now, ETH trades at approximately $2,335.94, with a market cap of $279.97 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $52.42 billion.

Nomad Bridge Exploit

The Nomad bridge, which facilitates cross-chain transactions, was compromised in August 2022, resulting in nearly $200 million in stolen assets. The breach was due to a flaw in the bridge’s smart contract, which allowed unauthorised withdrawals. The hackers exploited this vulnerability to access and transfer the stolen funds.

Recent Transactions

The exploiters recently utilised 39.75 million DAI, another cryptocurrency, to acquire 16,892 ETH. Following the purchase, the stolen assets were moved to Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer known for obfuscating transaction trails. Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics firm, highlighted these movements, while PeckShield, a blockchain investigation firm, noted the transfer of 17.75 ETH to an intermediary Ethereum address and approximately 2,400 ETH to Tornado Cash.

Additional Hacks and Market Uncertainty

In addition to the Nomad breach, other recent exploits involve stolen funds being moved. The Pancake Bunny hack, which occurred three years ago, saw stolen DAI tokens swapped for ETH. However, a portion of the stolen DAI was mistakenly sent to an incorrect address. Pancake Bunny, an automated market maker on the BNB Smart Chain, was exploited via a flash loan attack in 2021. On July 8, the hacker moved $2.9 million in ETH through Tornado Cash. Despite U.S. sanctions, Tornado Cash remains a tool of choice for those seeking to obscure their transactions.

The ongoing misuse of tools like Tornado Cash and the exploitation of market volatility highlight significant weaknesses in the regulatory and security frameworks governing digital assets, raising concerns about the integrity and safety of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.