Elliptic researchers publish data proving that Tornado Cash mixer helps hackers

Researchers from the analytical company Elliptic have presented a report in which they published data proving that the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash has been helping hackers.

🚨Over $ 100 million worth of NFTs were publicly reported as stolen through scams between July 2021 and July 2022, netting perpetrators $ 300,000 per scam on average.
Head to https://t.co/u6iPLjXgpR to read our NFTs and Financial Crime Report.#nft #crypto #aml

— Elliptic (@elliptic) August 24, 2022

According to analysts, hackers managed to launder 52% of their proceeds from illegal NFT transactions using Tornado Cash. «The widespread use of Tornado Cash for fraud with non-fungible tokens emphasizes the need for effective control by NFT platforms,» Elliptic researchers emphasized.

According to Elliptic representatives, between 2017 and 2022, $ 328.6 million related to the non-fungible token market passed through the Tornado Cash cryptomixer.

A few days earlier, the Kharon intelligence company accused the Tornado Cash developer of collaborating with the Russian FBI, but Alexei Pertsev’s wife denied the allegation. Currently, the Tornado Cash developer is in prison in the Netherlands and will spend the next 90 days there, during which time a public hearing will be held to decide the fate of the arrested IT specialist.

It is worth noting that the cryptocurrency community, human rights activists, and well-known developers disagree with the court’s decision and demand the immediate release of Alexey Pertsev. Users believe that the developer has become a victim of US political repression. «This is like saying that the inventor of the knife is guilty of murder. This is absurd,» said one of the participants of the rally in support of Pertsev.