This post was originally published on Coinspeaker
An onchain analyst – with subsequent corroboration from blockchain investigator ZachXBT, who flagged specific laundering paths via Telegram – has determined that the wallet associated with the Kelp DAO exploit is actively routing approximately $80 million worth of ETH through THORChain, a permissionless cross-chain liquidity protocol, with ZachXBT identifying early movements of roughly $1.5 million across three THORChain transactions and an additional $78,000 routed via Umbra, and the laundering activity driving THORChain’s 24-hour swap volume to $394 million – approximately eleven times its typical daily volume of under $35 million – as of late April 2026.
We suspect this is less a story about one exploiter’s laundering mechanics and more a structural signal about THORChain’s persistent role as the preferred exit infrastructure for large-scale DeFi theft, and the practical limits of protocol-level containment once stolen assets clear initial on-chain defenses and reach permissionless cross-chain venues.
🚨JUST NOW: KELP DAO EXPLOITER LAUNDERS $80M IN ETH VIA THORCHAIN
Kelp DAO attacker has laundered roughly $80MILLION in ETH, primarily through THORChain, after moving $175M funds off Ethereum on Tuesday after Arbitrum froze 30,766 ETH in stolen funds. pic.twitter.com/kguaN5h1r8
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 22, 2026
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