KelpDAO hacker swaps $175M ETH into Bitcoin

The attacker behind the KelpDAO exploit has converted around 75,700 ETH, worth approximately $175 million, into Bitcoin within roughly 36 hours.

On-chain data shared by analyst EmberCN showed the funds were largely swapped via cross-chain protocols after partial assets were frozen on Arbitrum.

“The hacker’s activity also brought THORChain $800 million in trading volume along with $910,000 in platform fee revenue,”

The analyst said.

The laundering activity intensified after Arbitrum’s Security Council froze more than 30,000 ETH linked to the exploit, limiting access to part of the stolen funds.

The attacker also used privacy tools such as Umbra Cash to obscure transactions, while the protocol temporarily disabled its frontend during ongoing recovery efforts.

The incident has had wider market repercussions, with deposits on Aave dropping from $45.8 billion to $29.6 billion amid investor withdrawals.

The rapid fund movement highlights growing sophistication in exploit strategies, as attackers increasingly rely on cross-chain infrastructure and privacy tools to evade tracking.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $2,325.78.