Bitcoin Layer-Two Bridge Exploit: ALEX Lab Details Laundering Scheme

• ALEX Lab hacker executed over 9,700 transactions to disperse stolen STX tokens.
• The volume of traceable transactions surged from 300 to over 9,600.
• The attacker deposited $15M STX into exchanges, with a balance of $9.9M remaining.

ALEX Lab, a Bitcoin layer-two (L2) network bridge, has issued an update on the recent hack that resulted in the theft of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, detailing the perpetrator’s ongoing efforts to launder the stolen funds.

According to the update, as of 11 AM, June 17, the perpetrator has executed more than 9,700 transactions, systematically creating new wallet addresses and distributing the stolen STX tokens across these wallets.

As a result, the volume of traceable transactions has surged dramatically, escalating from an initial 300 to over 9,600, showing no signs of slowing down. This tactic has significantly increased the number of unique addresses under the attacker’s control from fewer than 100 to over 4,700 within just seven days.

ALEX Lab noted that the hacker is transferring smaller amounts of STX to thousands of new addresses, which are later funneled into Centralized Exchanges (CEXs).

Despite these challenges, ALEX Lab reports strong cooperation from the majority of CEXs in the recovery efforts. However, the attacker has been adept at adapting and rapidly changing the target CEXs to deposit the stolen funds to evade recovery actions.

Currently, traceable STX deposits into CEXs amount to 8,373,587 STX, valued at about $15 million. The attacker’s on-chain balance stands at approximately 5,560,332 STX, or $9.9 million, considering only wallets holding more than 100 STX.

Notably, this exploit began in mid-May, and the ALEX Lab team has offered a 10% bounty for the return of 90% of the stolen funds, but to no avail. ALEX Lab remains committed to tracking and recovering the stolen funds, working closely with CEXs, and leveraging the latest blockchain forensic techniques.