A significant sum of approximately $330.7 million in Bitcoin, believed to be stolen, has been laundered through various instant cryptocurrency exchanges, leading to a sharp increase in the price of Monero (XMR). The incident, brought to public attention by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, began with the transfer of 3,520 Bitcoin from a potentially compromised wallet to an address known for suspicious activity.
The individuals involved in the laundering process rapidly moved the funds across more than half a dozen exchanges. During this movement, substantial amounts of Bitcoin were converted into Monero, a cryptocurrency specifically designed for privacy and known for its difficult-to-trace transactions.
The sudden spike in demand for Monero caused its price to surge by 50%, reaching a multi-year high of $329. While the price has since adjusted, the token is currently trading around $267.03, still reflecting a significant gain of 16.3% over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.
Data from Coinglass indicates that short positions exceeding $1 million were liquidated during this rapid price increase, adding further upward pressure to Monero's value.
Monero's price rally also coincided with growing anticipation surrounding its upcoming EP159 and EP160 upgrades. These proposed technical enhancements aim to make Monero more "compliance-friendly" by allowing users to prove the validity of transactions without revealing private details. Analysts speculate that this development could potentially pave the way for Monero's relisting on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, particularly in light of Europe's new MiCA regulations which address cryptocurrency markets.
It's worth noting that other cryptocurrencies focused on privacy, including Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), and Decred (DCR), also experienced notable price increases during this period.
Despite the enhanced anonymity offered by privacy tokens like Monero, the National Bureau of Investigation in Finland has reportedly made significant headway in tracing XMR transactions as part of their investigation into the criminal trial of Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki. Kivimäki is accused of hacking a private mental health firm's database and demanding ransom payments in cryptocurrencies.
Last year, prosecutors presented evidence of a crypto trail that allegedly led to Kivimäki's bank account. The alleged hacker had reportedly demanded 40 Bitcoin, valued at approximately 450,000 euros at the time, as ransom to prevent the exposure of patient records belonging to over 33,000 individuals from the psychotherapy service provider Vastaamo. When the ransom was not paid, Kivimäki is accused of targeting individual patients.
Finnish police claim that the hacker received payments in Bitcoin, sent the funds to an exchange that did not comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, converted them into Monero, and subsequently transferred them to a dedicated Monero wallet. The funds were then reportedly sent to Binance, exchanged back into Bitcoin, and moved to various other wallets. Local authorities have maintained confidentiality regarding the specific details of their on-chain analysis methods.
