Ethereum News: Lazarus Group Exploits Tornado Cash to Launder $750,000 in Crypto, Launches Sophisticated Malware Campaign

In a significant development in the world of cryptocurrency, the Lazarus Group, a hacking collective linked to North Korea, has been caught exploiting Tornado Cash, a platform known for anonymizing blockchain transactions. Here’s a closer look at the incident and its implications for the Ethereum ecosystem.

Tornado Cash Allows Lazarus Group To Launder 400 ETH

The Lazarus Group, a hacking collective affiliated with North Korea, continues its illegal activities by exploiting crypto. Recently, a transaction amounting to approximately 750,000 dollars was identified on Tornado Cash, a platform known for anonymizing blockchain transactions. The group has launched a new malware campaign targeting developers, confirming its evolution towards increasingly sophisticated attacks. On March 13, 2024, the security firm CertiK detected this transaction linked to Lazarus. The group is responsible for several major crypto hacks, including Bybit (1.4 billion dollars in February) and Phemex (29 million in January), and regularly uses services like THORChain to launder its funds.

Ethereum Price Struggles Below $2K; ETF Staking Potential Catalyst

Ethereum price has been unable to break past $2,000 due to bearish sentiment. Traders are closely watching the potential approval of staking within U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, with Fidelity, Grayscale, and 21Shares having filed applications. While some analysts see this as a major catalyst for ETH, regulatory delays are weighing on investor sentiment. Additionally, Ethereum faces competition from other blockchains and declining institutional interest amidst a broader macroeconomic backdrop unfavorable to risk assets.

A Complete Guide To NFTs

2021 was the year everyone was talking about NFTs, with a digital image of a monkey (Bored Apes collection) fetching thousands of dollars in ETH. However, by 2025, their popularity had waned. This article explains what NFTs are, how they work, what they are used for, important platforms in the NFT space, how to create an NFT, and ways to promote it. It also discusses whether NFTs are dead and includes FAQs.

Ethereum Delays The Pectra Update

Ethereum has once again postponed the Pectra update. To avoid a rushed implementation, the crypto network will launch a third testnet on March 17, with Pectra activation scheduled for March 26. The main developers of Ethereum identified several major technical issues on the Sepolia and Holesky testnets, including errors on Geth nodes leading to synchronization failures, production of empty blocks compromising the proper functioning of the crypto network, and lack of stability making complete validation difficult before deployment on the mainnet. In light of these difficulties, the developers decided to create Hoodi, a testnet that allows for better replication of the Ethereum mainnet environment.