Orbit Chain Attacker Converts Tether Funds into Ethereum

The hackers behind the recent Orbit Chain breach successfully converted their illicit gains into Ethereum, amassing an additional $1.45 million in unrealized profits amid a 4.7% surge in ETH prices within the last 24 hours.

After pilfering approximately $81.6 million from the Orbit Chain platform just hours before the new year, the cybercriminals exchanged 30 million USDT and 230.9 WBTC for 17,250 ETH at an average price of $2,301. This conversion, valued at $39.7 million, allowed the attackers to capitalize on the rising trend in ETH prices.

Following the breach, Orbit Chain confirmed unauthorized access to Orbit Bridge, its cross-chain bridging service. The project promptly suspended the cross-chain bridge contract and engaged in on-chain negotiations with the attackers, as reported by Beosin Alert, an on-chain analytics platform.

Initial concerns about a potential exploit were raised by a pseudonymous Twitter user, Kgjr, on December 31, highlighting substantial outflows from the Orbit Chain Bridge protocol. Subsequent investigations by blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence revealed that the hackers executed five distinct transactions, transferring various assets to new wallets.