Galaxy Research head of research Alex Thorn said on X that 17 BTC taken from a Coldcard attack victim were split up, swapped into ETH through THORChain, and later deposited to offshore betting platform Duel.com. Thorn said the traced funds amounted to about 229.72 ETH, worth roughly $445,000. According to his account, the victim and the research team emailed all known Duel.com addresses with full transaction and deposit details and asked the platform to freeze the funds. Thorn said Duel.com responded that the victim should have law enforcement contact the company directly, despite the platform’s anti-money laundering policy stating that it conducts KYC and follows applicable laws. Thorn called that response unacceptable and argued that if a platform refuses to freeze funds after receiving forensically verified notice that the assets came from an ongoing cyberattack, it is assisting theft. He added that because Duel.com’s X account had been suspended, he tagged several people linked to the platform to push for action and warned that the company could face major legal action if the funds are not frozen.
Galaxy Research head of research Alex Thorn said on X that 17 BTC linked to a Coldcard attack victim were split up, swapped into ETH through THORChain, and then deposited to offshore betting platform Duel.com.
Thorn said the funds he traced amounted to about 229.72 ETH, with an estimated value of $445,000.
According to Thorn, the victim and the research team emailed all known Duel.com addresses with full transaction and deposit records and asked the platform to freeze the funds. He said Duel.com replied that the victim should have police contact the company directly, even though the platform’s anti-money laundering policy says it performs KYC and complies with relevant laws.
Thorn called the response unacceptable. He added that it was already past midnight across much of the West, which meant any police filing would likely not move forward until Monday. In his view, if a platform refuses to freeze funds after receiving a forensically verified notice that the assets came from an ongoing cyberattack, that amounts to assisting theft.
Because Duel.com’s X account had been suspended, Thorn said he instead tagged several people associated with the platform and urged them to push Duel.com to do the right thing. He also said the platform could face major legal action if the funds are not frozen.
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