US Imposes First Sanctions on Mixer Company for Assisting North Korea's Cryptocurrency Laundering

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] On the 6th (local time), the United States imposed sanctions on a mixer service that helped launder virtual currency stolen by North Korea.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has designated the virtual currency mixer service "Blender" as a sanctions target, citing its use in supporting North Korea's malicious cyber activities as well as laundering stolen virtual currency.

A mixer is a technology that splits virtual currency to make it impossible to identify who sent it. Repeating this process makes it difficult to trace the funds, their usage, or whether they have been cashed out. Mixers are also called tumblers. The Treasury Department explained that this is the first time the U.S. has sanctioned a virtual currency mixer. Since its establishment in 2017, Blender has been used to transfer more than $500 million worth of Bitcoin, and it has also helped launder funds for ransomware groups linked to Russia, such as TrickBot and Conti, according to the Treasury.

This measure is a follow-up response to the Lazarus hacking group, linked to North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, stealing a record $620 million (7.88 billion KRW) in virtual currency from the blockchain video game "Axie Infinity" on March 23. The Treasury stated that Blender was used to process $20.5 million of North Korea's illicit proceeds.

The Treasury added an Ethereum wallet connected to Lazarus to the sanctions list on the 14th of last month and further added three wallets on the 22nd, strengthening sanctions related to North Korea's virtual currency activities. According to the Associated Press, the Treasury added four more virtual currency wallets to the sanctions list on this day.

The Treasury pointed out that despite sanctions by the U.S. and the United Nations Security Council, North Korea continues to generate revenue for its illicit weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs by relying on illegal activities such as extortion at virtual currency exchanges and financial institutions.

Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury, said, "Virtual currency mixers that facilitate illegal transactions pose a threat to U.S. national security interests," adding, "We will take action against North Korea's illicit financial activities."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a separate statement saying, "The United States is committed to pursuing diplomacy with North Korea and urges North Korea to engage in dialogue," and added, "At the same time, we will continue to respond to North Korea's illicit cyber activities and violations of UN Security Council resolutions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.