Hackers linked to North Korea have begun using created meme coins to launder cryptocurrency stolen during the large-scale Binance hack. This is reported by the analytics firm Elliptic: reports Elliptic.
The perpetrators mimic trading in little-known tokens to obscure the movement of funds and make them harder to trace.
Movement of around 117,000 NEAR on 5–7 November
Analysts found that from 5 to 7 November the perpetrators moved around 117,000 NEAR tokens, with a total value of approximately ≈$430,000, through six newly created meme coins. Elliptic noted that the operation was carried out deliberately, using a series of new tokens.
“Most people think of memecoins as ‘joke coins’ whose price rises and falls with hype. However, North Korean hackers have found another use for them,” Elliptic explained.
Mechanics of the meme-coin scheme
The perpetrators created tokens with no real value and opened liquidity pools for them on decentralized exchanges. Controlled wallets then bought these assets with the stolen funds, while other addresses sold them through the same pools, obtaining liquid crypto assets.
The scheme was used on the TRON and NEAR networks, and a similar mechanism was employed on Solana. Analysts point out that almost all transactions were carried out by interlinked addresses, and proceeds from selling some tokens were used to create the next ones.
Binance warning about an iOS vulnerability
The cryptocurrency exchange Binance has warned of a vulnerability “that allows malicious apps to read local files from other apps, putting recovery phrases, private keys and credentials at risk.” “This is an iOS-level issue that is not unique to Binance,” Binance said.
The exchange advises removing any apps installed from untrusted sources (such as sideloaded or manually signed IPA files) and to update iOS and all apps to the latest official versions. “If you suspect a compromise, move funds to a new wallet created on a clean device, and reset all active login sessions,” Binance said.
Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile.
