Garden Bridges $2 Billion, But Sleuths Allege North Korean Money Laundering
Crypto sleuths allege that the Garden bridging app, after facilitating $2 billion in swaps, is being used for North Korean money laundering.Summary
The Bitcoin bridging application Garden recently announced it had successfully bridged over $2 billion in token swaps, a milestone celebrated by its founder, Jaz Gurati. However, this announcement was met with severe accusations from prominent crypto sleuth ZachXBT, who alleged that a substantial portion of Garden's volume—claiming 25% more than typical—came from criminal actors engaged in money laundering. ZachXBT further claimed Garden profited from this activity without returning funds. Another investigator, Tayvano_, echoed these concerns, specifically alleging that DPRK-based hackers were using the centralized platform to launder stolen funds, potentially to support the North Korean regime. While ZachXBT noted Garden's centralization contrasts with decentralized tools like Tornado Cash, the article concludes that community watchdogs have diminished power to stop such offenses, especially as government enforcement in crypto slows down, suggesting community backlash may not impact Garden's bottom line.
(Source：BeInCrypto)