The hackers behind last year’s massive Radiant Capital exploit have just made their biggest move in months cashing out another $13 million worth of Ethereum (ETH).
On August 12, blockchain security firm Onchain Lens revealed that the attackers converted 3,091 ETH into 13.26 million DAI, a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin. The funds were then quietly transferred to another wallet.
A Heist That Shook DeFi
This fresh sale is part of the fallout from the October 17, 2024 breach, which drained $53 million from Radiant Capital and its users. The hackers looted assets across both Arbitrum and BSC, immediately converting their haul into 12,835 ETH (then worth $33.56M) and 32,113 BNB (then worth $19.35M).
What’s interesting is that this latest $13M ETH dump barely moved the market a sign that the attackers are timing their sales to avoid spooking prices and drawing too much attention.
The North Korean Connection
A post-mortem investigation by cybersecurity firm Mandiant commissioned by Radiant Capital traced the hack back to AppleJeus, a notorious hacking group linked to North Korea’s regime.
AppleJeus has a reputation for meticulous, high-level cybercrime. In this case, they combined social engineering with custom malware to infiltrate Radiant’s development team.
The attackers posed as a former contractor and reached out to a developer via Telegram, sharing what they claimed was a PDF in a zip file. Hidden inside was macOS malware that created a backdoor, allowing the hackers to execute blind smart contract signatures without the victim’s knowledge.
The Bigger Picture
North Korean cyber groups have increasingly turned to DeFi exploits as a source of funding, with stolen crypto helping finance the country’s operations despite global sanctions. The Radiant Capital breach and the methodical way the funds are being laundered is a stark reminder that these operations are far from random.
For now, the hackers still control millions in stolen crypto, and the slow, deliberate cash-outs suggest they’re in no rush watching the markets, biding their time.
