Federal Agents Recover $30 Million of Hacked Axie Infinity Funds

Cryptocurrency worth $30 million was recovered from Axie Infinity in March by federal agents working with blockchain analyst Chainalysis. The playto-earn game lost $625 million to the North Korean-linked Lazarus Group. The recovery is a significant accomplishment for law enforcement and the crypto community. It is the first time crypto has been seized from a North Korean hacking group.

North Korea-linked groups typically use Tornado Cash to mix Ether, but the US sanctions imposed on the mixer forced them to use alternative methods. To conceal their funds' source, they use blockchain bridges to switch between different kinds of digital coins, and the analyst was able to trace those crosschain transfers.

Most of the stolen funds from Axie Infinity remain on the blockchain, indicating that bad actors have difficulty moving stolen assets around and converting them into fiat currency. There is a good chance that stolen funds will be recovered again from these hacking groups, according to Chainalysis.

AxieCon, which is currently taking place, was the site where the fund retrieval announcement was made, according to Bleeping Computer. According to Axie Infinity's publishers, the authorities recovered money will slowly be transferred into the game's treasury and then distributed to players. In any case, it won't be a quick process, and it may take several years to complete. —Crypto Weekly