As per the CNBC report, criminals used the cross-chain bridge RenBridge to launder more than $540 million since 2020, in crimes related to crypto cash, reported blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
This includes a staggering $153 million in ransomware payments. It means that hackers have been leveraging RenBridge as they break into corporate networks and force companies to pay in crypto in order to get back their data. As per Elliptic, the cross-bridge platform RenBridge has been an important facilitator to ransomware platforms linked to Russia.
Elliptic’s vice president of policy and regulatory affairs David Carlisle refers to these cross-chain bridges as a blessing as well as a curse. He states that on one hand, these bridges expand the market by offering another platform to transact. He adds that cross-chain bridges are vital to the development of overall DeFi space.
The flipside is, “they’re effectively ungoverned, and so very vulnerable to hacks, or to being used in crimes like money laundering,” said Carlislie.
Regulation of Crypto Bridges
Carlislie believes that regulators will start cracking down on crypto bridges over the next 12 months. The latest news comes a day after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the use of crypto mixer Tornado Cash. Reportedly, Tornado Cash laundered more than $7 billion since 2019.
