KuCoin hackers keep moving stolen tokens to the largest DeFi exchange

After a major hack at KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange, cybercriminals continue to move stolen crypto to decentralized exchanges, or DEXes.

According to data from crypto transaction tracking service Whale Alert, KuCoin hackers keep sending thousands of dollars worth of Synthetix Network Token (SNX) to Uniswap — the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol by total value locked.

On Sept. 28, the hacker completed another batch of transactions moving stolen funds from KuCoin and to major DEX Uniswap. According to data from Whale Alert, the hackers sent at least $1.2 million worth of stolen SNX tokens to the DEX in a series of four transactions today.

Alongside using Uniswap to send stolen SNX tokens, KuCoin hackers also moved $5 million in Chainlink (LINK) and SNX to unknown wallets today, according to Whale Alert data. 

Following the KuCoin hack on Sept. 26, a number of centralized exchanges have taken urgent measures to prevent hackers from withdrawing the stolen funds, freezing up to $129,000 million out of the estimated $200 million lost.

Dovey Wan, founding partner at blockchain-based investment company Primitive Ventures, believes that the KuCoin hackers were apparently “DeFi noobs” because they first tried to sell the stolen tokens on the world’s largest centralized exchange, Binance. “The hacker who hacked Kucoin apparently is a Defi noob, tried to sell on Binance and didn’t swap the tainted USDT on Curve,” Wan said.

Wan said that DeFi could be a handy tool for hackers because DeFi infrastructure is actually composed of natural cryptocurrency mixers — services that allow users to “mix” their coins with other users in order to preserve their privacy:

“All Defi infra are natural mixers with ultra low slippage […] Hackers with normal IQ will soon figure out, this is not some alpha leak and Defi infra is designed to serve all purposes […] If a hacker can hack a CEX, no point he/she has no idea how to successfully liquidate via DEX.”