Bitget hackers move $4 million into Zcash’s private pool, making funds harder to trace
Reported by CoinDesk · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
Wallets linked to the Bitget hack, in which $387.5 million was stolen, moved about $3.9 million worth of zcash (2,746 ZEC) into Zcash’s Ironwood shielded pool on Wednesday. This transfer, done in three transactions, makes tracing these stolen funds more difficult as it conceals sender, recipient, and transfer amount details. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified these movements from intermediary addresses funded by a wallet Bitget marked as belonging to the attacker.
Why it matters
Moving stolen Zcash into the private Ironwood shielded pool complicates the tracking and recovery of funds by obscuring transaction details. Although investigators can still attempt to trace funds using timing, amounts, and metadata when they re-enter public addresses, the pool itself provides a layer of cryptographic privacy that reduces transparency.
Key context
The Bitget hack occurred on September 24, with nearly 18,917 ZEC stolen. Zcash’s Ironwood shielded pool is designed to conceal sender, recipient, and amount within private payments. Previous movements of stolen funds included about $6.3 million in ether-to-bitcoin swaps traceable on THORChain, which left public records visible unlike transfers via the shielded pool.
Key numbers and entities
Bitget exchange, $387.5 million hack amount, 2,746 ZEC (approximately $3.9 million), 18,917 ZEC total stolen, blockchain investigator ZachXBT, Zcash’s Ironwood shielded pool, $6.3 million in ETH-to-BTC swaps on THORChain.
What remains unclear
The source does not specify if any of the stolen funds have been recovered or how effective recovery efforts have been since the funds entered the shielded pool. It also does not clarify whether additional moves into privacy pools or other obfuscation methods have occurred.