Coin Market

THORChain at crossroads: Decentralization clashes with illicit activity

Published

2 months ago

March 11, 2025

THORChain has been called a money laundering protocol — a label no decentralized finance (DeFi) project wants unless it’s prepared to have regulators breathing down its neck.

Its supporters have fended off the criticism by championing decentralization, while its critics point to recent activities that showed some of the protocol’s centralized tendencies.

After exploiting Bybit for $1.4 billion, the North Korean state-backed hackers behind the attack, known as the Lazarus Group, flocked to THORChain, making it their top choice to convert stolen funds from Ether (ETH) to Bitcoin (BTC). Lazarus finished converting its Ether within just 10 days of the hack.

The controversy has triggered internal conflict, governance cracks and developer resignations, exposing a deeper issue and question: Can DeFi remain neutral when criminals exploit it at scale?

THORChain is not a mixer

THORChain is a decentralized swap protocol, so some say it’s unfair to call it a laundering machine, as the output is traceable. It’s not like a mixer, whose purpose is to conceal cryptocurrency fund trails — though the reasons for using mixers vary between users, with some simply wanting to preserve their privacy and others using them for illicit purposes.

Federico Paesano, investigations lead at Crystal Intelligence, argued in a LinkedIn post that it is misleading to state that the North Korean hackers “laundered” the Bybit hack proceeds.

“So far, there’s been no concealment, only conversion. The stolen ETH have been swapped for BTC using various providers, but every swap is fully traceable. This isn’t laundering; it’s just asset movement across blockchains.”

Tracing funds swapped to Bitcoin is time-consuming, but not impossible. Source: Federico Paesano

Hackers also moved funds through Uniswap and OKX DEX, yet THORChain has become the focal point of scrutiny due to the sheer volume of funds that passed through it. In a March 4 X post, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said that 72% of the stolen funds (361,255 ETH) had flowed through THORChain, far surpassing activity on other DeFi services.

Over $1 billion in Ether from the Bybit theft was traced to THORChain. Source: Coldfire/Dune Analytics

A truly decentralized platform’s strength lies in its neutrality and censorship-resistance, which are foundational to blockchain’s value proposition, according to Rachel Lin, CEO of decentralized exchange SynFutures.

“The line between decentralization and responsibility can evolve with technology,” Lin told Cointelegraph. “While human intervention contradicts decentralization’s ethos, protocol-level innovations could automate safeguards against illicit activity.”

THORChain collected at least $5 million in fees from these transactions, a windfall for a project already struggling with financial instability. This financial benefit has further fueled criticism, with some questioning whether THORChain’s reluctance to intervene was ideological or simply a matter of self-preservation.

Source: Yogi (Screenshot cropped by Cointelegraph for visibility)

Governance cracks show when decentralization becomes a shield

The controversy sparked a dilemma on whether THORChain should act. In an attempt to block the hackers, three validators voted to halt ETH trading, effectively closing off their swapping route. However, four validators quickly voted to overturn the decision.

This exposed a contradiction in THORChain’s governance model. The protocol claims to be absolutely decentralized, yet it had previously intervened to pause its lending feature due to insolvency risks (swaps still remained operational).

Some crypto community members called out THORChain’s actions as selective decentralization, where governance intervention only occurs when it serves the protocol’s own interests.

Source: Dan Dadybayo

The backlash was immediate. Pluto, a key THORChain developer, resigned. Another developer, TCB, who identified themselves as one of the three validators who voted to halt Ether trades, hinted at leaving unless governance issues were addressed.

Meanwhile, blockchain investigator ZachXBT called out Asgardex, a THORChain-based decentralized exchange, for not returning fees earned from hackers, while other protocols reportedly refunded ill-gotten gains.

THORChain founder John-Paul Thorbjornsen responded by claiming that centralized exchanges pocket millions from facilitating illicit transactions unless pressured by authorities.

“This pisses me off. Do we get ETH and BTC nodes to give back their transaction fees? What about GETH or BTCCore devs – who write the software, funded by grants/donations?” asked Thorbjornsen.

Source: ZachXBT

THORChain’s growing regulatory risks, as previously demonstrated by privacy tools

For now, THORChain has avoided any direct enforcement actions from governments, but history suggests that DeFi protocols facilitating illicit finance may not escape scrutiny forever. Tornado Cash, a well-known crypto mixer, was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 after being used to launder billions of dollars, though it was later overturned by a US court. Similarly, Railgun came under FBI scrutiny in 2023 after North Korean hackers used it to move $60 million in stolen Ether.

Railgun presents a unique case, as it’s marketed as a privacy protocol rather than a mixer or a DEX. But the distinction still draws comparisons to THORChain, given that privacy protocols frequently face criticism for potentially enabling illicit activities.

“Critics often claim that privacy-focused projects enable crime, but in reality, protecting financial privacy is a fundamental right and a cornerstone of decentralized innovation,” Chen Feng, head of research at Autonomys and associate professor and research chair in blockchain at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus, told Cointelegraph.

“Technologies like ZK-proofs and trusted execution environments can secure user data without obscuring illicit activity entirely. Through optional transparency measures and robust onchain forensics, suspicious patterns can still be detected. The goal is to strike a balance: empower users with privacy while ensuring the system has built-in safeguards to discourage and trace illicit use.”

Lin of SynFutures said continued illicit use of decentralized protocols would “absolutely” lead to drastic measures from authorities.

“Governments will likely escalate measures if they perceive decentralized protocols as systemic risks. This could include sanctioning protocol addresses, pressuring infrastructure providers, blacklisting entire networks or going after the builders,” she said.

Rising pressure against THORChain

THORChain supporters argue it is being unfairly singled out, as hackers have also used other DeFi protocols. But regulators tend to focus on the biggest enablers, and THORChain processed the vast majority of the stolen funds from the Bybit hack. This makes it an easy target for enforcement actions ranging from Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions to developer prosecutions.

“When the huge majority of your flows are stolen funds from north korea for the biggest money heist in human history, it will become a national security issue, this isn’t a game anymore,” TCB wrote on X.

“The threshold you want to be credibly decentralized you need a network of 1000+ unique validators. There is a reason why @Chainflip fixed this issue on the network level so quickly and all front end are applying censorship.”

If regulators decide to crack down, the consequences could be severe. Sanctions on THORChain’s validators, front-end service, and liquidity providers could cripple its ecosystem, while major exchanges might delist RUNE (RUNE), cutting off its access to liquidity.

There is also the possibility of legal action against developers, as seen in the Tornado Cash case, or pressure to introduce compliance measures like sanctioned address filtering — something that would contradict THORChain’s decentralized ethos and alienate its core user base.

THORChain’s entanglement with North Korean hackers has put it at a crossroads. The protocol must decide whether to take action now or risk having regulators step in to make that decision for them.

For now, the protocol remains firm in its laissez-faire approach, but history suggests DeFi projects that ignore illicit activity don’t stay untouchable forever.

Magazine: THORChain founder and his plan to ‘vampire attack’ all of DeFi

Coin Market

New bull cycle? Bitcoin's return to $100K hints at ‘significant price move’

Published

20 minutes ago

May 8, 2025

Key points:

Bitcoin’s realized cap is beating records and has almost reached the $900 billion mark.

The market is laying the foundations for a “potentially significant price breakout,” new analysis says.

Profit-taking is not hindering the overall bull market rebound.

Bitcoin (BTC) is setting new all-time highs in network value as BTC price action eyes a return to six figures.

Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant confirms new record highs for Bitcoin’s realized cap.

Bitcoin realized cap reflects “growing conviction”

Bitcoin is worth more than ever in US dollar terms if its market cap is measured by the value at which the extant supply last moved onchain.

Known as realized cap, this figure has seen continued all-time highs since mid-April as BTC/USD stages a sustained recovery, and as of May 7 stood at $891 billion.

“Bitcoin has experienced a steady flow of capital inflows in recent weeks, reflecting renewed interest from investors,” CryptoQuant contributor Carmelo Alemán summarized in one of its “Quicktake” blog posts on May 7.

Alemán argued that the realized cap uptrend reflects a long-term market shift across the Bitcoin investor spectrum.

“This new all-time high in Realized Cap not only reflects a surge in invested capital but also a growing conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term potential as a financial asset,” the post concluded.

“With sustained accumulation from both LTHs and STHs, the market appears to be building a solid foundation for a potentially significant price breakout. If this trend continues, we could be witnessing the early stages of a new bull cycle for Bitcoin.”Bitcoin realized cap. Source: CryptoQuant

BTC capital influx ongoing since 2023

As Cointelegraph reported, concerns remain over the fate of the current market rebound.

Misgivings over profit-taking in particular form grounds to suspect that higher prices may not last — both LTH and STH entities have seized the opportunity to lock in profits, with these averaging $1 billion daily.

In the latest edition of its regular newsletter, “The Week Onchain,” research firm Glassnode nonetheless argues that buy and sell-side conditions are balanced at around $100,000.

“A surge in profit taking can be observed in recent weeks, with the recent rally drawing in over $1B/day in net capital inflows,” it wrote.

“This points to initial indicators of a return of demand-side strength, allowing sellers to lock in profits, and speaking to buyers willing to pick up coins at the current market price. Generally speaking, this points to a wave of demand which is absorbing the incoming supply.”Bitcoin net realized profit/loss (screenshot). Source: Glassnode

Glassnode added that the quest for profits has, in fact, extended for over 18 months.

“Notably, the market has sustained a profit-driven regime since October 2023, with capital inflows consistently exceeding outflows. This steady influx of fresh capital serves as an overall constructive signal,” it stated.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

60K Bitcoin addresses leaked as LockBit ransomware gang gets hacked

Published

2 hours ago

May 8, 2025

Almost 60,000 Bitcoin addresses tied to LockBit’s ransomware infrastructure were leaked after hackers breached the group’s dark web affiliate panel.

The leak included a MySQL database dump shared publicly online. It contained crypto-related information that could help blockchain analysts trace the group’s illicit financial flows.

Ransomware is a type of malware used by malicious actors. It locks its target’s files or computer systems, making them inaccessible. The attackers typically demand a ransom payment, often in digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), in exchange for a decryption key to unlock the files.

LockBit is one of the most notorious crypto ransomware groups. In February 2024, 10 countries launched a joint operation to disrupt the group, saying that the organization had caused billions in damages to key infrastructure.

Source: ReyXBF

No Bitcoin private keys leaked

While almost 60,000 Bitcoin wallets were leaked, no private keys were included. One X user shared a conversation with a LockBit operator, confirming the breach. However, the LockBit person said no private keys or data were lost.

Despite this, analysts at Bleeping Computer said the database contained 20 tables, including a “builds” table. This included individual ransomware builds created by the organization’s affiliates. The data also identified some of the target companies for the builds.

In addition, the leaked database also included a “chats” table. This table contained over 4,400 negotiation messages between victims and the ransomware organization.

LockBit hack tied to Everest ransomware breach

It’s unclear who was behind the breach and how they got into LockBit’s operations, but Bleeping Computer analysts said the message used in the Everest ransomware site breach matched the one used in LockBit. The analysts suggested that there may be a link between the two incidents.

The breach highlighted the role that crypto plays in the ransomware economy. Each victim is usually assigned an address to pay their ransom, allowing the affiliates to monitor payments while attempting to obscure ties to their main wallets.

The exposure of the addresses allows law enforcement and blockchain investigators to track patterns and potentially link past ransom payments to known wallets.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

Coin Market

Can you mine Bitcoin with a gaming PC? Here’s what you need to know

Published

2 hours ago

May 8, 2025

Is your gaming PC capable of mining crypto?

As of May 2025, Bitcoin mining is looking attractive again. With Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $95,000 and transaction fees hitting new highs after the 2024 halving, mining rewards — though smaller — are worth chasing. From home setups to industrial-scale farms, the question of whether Bitcoin mining is profitable is back in the spotlight.

And if you’re a gamer, chances are you’ve looked at your rig and wondered: Can a gaming PC mine crypto? After all, modern gaming computers are packed with powerful GPUs, solid cooling and lots of downtime, especially if you’re not gaming daily. It’s a fair question: Can you mine Bitcoin with a gaming PC?

The short answer: Yes, but it won’t be worth it.

The long answer:

Understanding Bitcoin mining

Mining is the process that adds new BTC to circulation. More importantly, it’s how the Bitcoin network stays secure and functions without a central authority. Every time someone sends or receives Bitcoin, miners verify and record that transaction.

This is all powered by proof-of-work (PoW), a consensus mechanism where miners race to encode transactions in a format that is acceptable to the network. It’s essentially just a massive guessing game, where miners try different inputs until one generates a hash with enough leading zeroes to meet the network’s current difficulty target.

For example, a valid Bitcoin block might start with something like 00000000000000000000956e9ff76455…. The first miner to hit that valid hash wins the reward: currently 3.125 BTC, plus transaction fees.

The issue is, to generate that many leading zeroes in 2025, you’re looking at around 10³¹ hash attempts on average to produce a valid hash.

As you can imagine, that takes a lot of power.

Did you know? The energy used to mine a single Bitcoin block today could power an average US household for over 10 years. That’s the cost of making sure the network stays decentralized and tamper-proof.

From CPUs to ASICs: How mining hardware evolved

It didn’t use to be this hard to mine Bitcoin. As more miners joined the network and the total computing power surged, the protocol automatically ramped up the difficulty.

That’s by design. Bitcoin adjusts to keep block times steady at around 10 minutes, no matter how much horsepower is thrown at it.

Back in 2009, Bitcoin mining for beginners meant using a regular laptop CPU. Then came the rise of GPUs — graphics cards originally built for gaming — which dramatically improved mining performance.

But then came ASICs, application-specific integrated circuits, designed solely to mine Bitcoin. These machines are vastly more powerful and energy-efficient than any GPU. By 2015, they had effectively taken over the mining scene.

Fast forward to 2025: ASICs still reign supreme. If you’re wondering about the best setup for mining Bitcoin on PC, know that ASIC vs. GPU mining isn’t a fair fight anymore. That doesn’t mean your gaming rig is useless, but it does mean you’ll want to consider alternative strategies.

Did you know? After Sept. 30, 2025, 4GB GPUs will no longer work due to DAG size limits.

Gaming PCs vs. ASIC miners

Bitcoin mining with a gaming PC, even with a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090, is inefficient and unlikely to be profitable due to low performance, high energy costs and hardware wear-and-tear compared to ASIC miners.

Performance: Can your GPU keep up?

Let’s say you’re using an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 — top of the line. Sounds heavy-duty, right?

Not for Bitcoin GPU mining.

That card might do well on other algorithms like Ethash (used in Ethereum Classic), but when it comes to Bitcoin’s SHA-256, it barely scratches the surface. Even the mighty RTX 4090 gets crushed by ASICs. A high-end ASIC like the Antminer S21 Pro pumps out 200 terahashes per second (TH/s) — that’s trillions of hashes per second, compared to maybe a few hundred megahashes per second from a GPU. That’s a millionfold difference.

Efficiency: The electricity bill tells the real story

Let’s talk about power. A GPU like the 4090 pulls around 450 watts. But the hashing performance it delivers is minuscule compared to the watts consumed. ASICs, by contrast, draw more power (e.g., 3,500 watts) but deliver far better output — roughly 17.5 joules per terahash.

In short, even if you’re mining Bitcoin on a gaming PC 24/7, the energy cost per dollar earned is painful. Is Bitcoin mining profitable with a gaming PC? Not really. Especially when you factor in cooling, hardware strain and your local energy prices.

Economics: Does it make any sense?

Even with low electricity rates, the ROI on mining Bitcoin from home with a gaming computer is near zero — if not outright negative. Solo mining? Forget it. The chances of hitting a block are microscopic. Pool mining? Your contribution is so small compared to ASIC farms that the payouts will be negligible.

And then there’s the wear and tear. GPUs weren’t designed to run at full capacity around the clock. Long-term mining can shorten their lifespan and may void warranties.

Did you know? WhatToMine is a useful site that shows what coins are most profitable to mine with your exact setup. Just plug in your GPU, and it does the rest.

Alternative cryptocurrencies for gaming PCs

If Bitcoin mining on PC feels like bringing a Nerf gun to a tank fight, don’t lose hope. There are still coins designed to be mined with GPUs in 2025 — and some even reward users fairly for it.

Let’s take a look at such cryptocurrencies:

Ethereum Classic (ETC): GPU-friendly legacy chain

Still using the Ethash algorithm, Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a solid option for GPU miners. Blocks are mined every 13 seconds with a 3.2 ETC reward.

Ravencoin (RVN): Built for the people

Ravencoin uses KAWPOW, an algorithm specifically designed to resist ASIC domination. It’s friendly to GPU miners and offers quick one-minute blocks with 2,500 Ravencoin (RVN) rewards. Mining altcoins with GPU setups is still very viable here.

Monero (XMR): Privacy-first and CPU/GPU accessible

Monero relies on the RandomX algorithm, making it accessible to both CPU and GPU miners. You won’t get rich, but it’s a way to earn passively, especially if you’ve got cheap electricity and want passive income from mining.