Railgun, a coin mixer, recently witnessed phenomenal gains in the price of its native token, RAIL, following Vitalik’s substantial support. However, the price faces risk. By Coingape Staff 20 hours ago Updated 16 hours ago
Story Highlights
- Railgun (RAIL) price rallies over 100% following Vitalik Buterin’s support.
- However, Railgun’s ties to an outlaw group poses it to risks.
- Data spotlights North Korea’s Lazarus Group’s ties to Railgun.
In a riveting turn of events, following Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s vital support to the coin mixer Railgun, a tidal wave of speculations birthed surrounding the DeFi platform’s future venture as North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a cyberhacker group, was reported to be using the platform for conducting illicit activities. This poses a significant threat to the coin mixer’s future despite Buterin’s recent vital support to the project.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the platform’s native token, RAIL, showcased gains of over 100% following the Ethereum co-founder’s endorsement of Railgun. However, the token still poses risks of a substantial price fall ahead, stemming primarily from its ties to the outlaw crew mentioned above.
Lazarus Group’s Ties To Railgun
As confirmed by the FBI, the Lazarus Group, a hacker group that some say is run by North Korea’s government, was behind the June 2022 hack of Harmony’s Horizon Bridge, a cross-chain bridge service. The hack reportedly resulted in a loss of $99.7 million, with the crypto community dealing with the blow.
Concerns had previously been raised that the bridge was overcentralized, meaning it was particularly vulnerable to social engineering attacks, a common attack vector for the Lazarus Group. Despite this, no proactive measures were taken, resulting in the massive exploitation attack mentioned above.
Notably, following the attack, the Lazarus Group programmatically structured exploited funds through Tornado Cash, a decentralized Ethereum-based mixer similar to Railgun. However, with Tornado Cash facing sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August 2022, the funds were soon restructured into another privacy-based DeFi protocol called Railgun, a Tornado Cash alternative. This underscores Railgun’s ties with the rogue syndicate Lazarus Group, further posing the coin mixer to regulatory scrutiny and risks.
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Similarly, another exploitation attack by the Lazarus Group coincided with the abovementioned chronicle, resulting in the loss of funds worth $540 million. This exploitation attack scoped in on another cross-chain bridge, known as Ronin, in March 2022.
Railgun (RAIL) Rallies Following Vitalik’s Support
As of writing, the Railgun (RAIL) token noted gains worth 129.24% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $1.28. This surge in price is primarily attributed to Vitalik’s endorsement of the project, further escorted by the Ethereum co-founder’s 100 ETH donation.
Nonetheless, with Railgun’s ties to the outlaw crew mentioned above, the project and its token may face a significant setback ahead, as seen by Tornado Cash’s encountering of sanctions. This could potentially come as a setback for Railgun despite its recent gust of development.