The Kelp DAO exploiter has laundered nearly all of the remaining stolen funds, totaling around $220 million, in an attempt to make them untraceable. This erases hopes of recovering the majority of the assets through on-chain tracking.
Arbitrum’s Security Council had earlier frozen $71 million of the stolen assets, the only portion successfully intercepted. However, the remaining $220 million was moved and laundered before the freeze could take effect, leaving it beyond the reach of investigators.
The laundered funds are now effectively lost, and prospects of recovery are slim. The frozen $71 million remains the sole potential avenue for victim restitution, but it will require lengthy legal and governance processes. For Kelp DAO, the laundering marks a definitive end to hopes of retrieving the stolen capital.