$22 billion has already been laundered through cross-chain bridges. How did this happen

The transfer of cryptocurrency between blockchains greatly simplifies the use of digital assets and also creates an opportunity to conceal financial flows. This opportunity is often exploited by hackers and fraudsters to launder illegally obtained funds. GetBlock AML Research explains why cross-chain bridges have become so popular with attackers.

How cross-chain exchanges work

Each blockchain has its own unique architecture and is not compatible with other blockchains, so a direct transfer of assets from one blockchain to another is impossible. To transfer cryptocurrencies between networks, intermediaries (cross-chain bridges) are used.

How cross-chain bridges work:

• Transfer assets to the bridge;
• The bridge locks the received assets in blockchain A;
• The bridge issues similarly equivalent assets in blockchain B, using assets from blockchain A as collateral;
• To return the original assets in blockchain A, the issued assets in blockchain B must be returned to the bridge, after which they will be burned.

Why cross-chain bridges are being used to launder cryptocurrency

Cross-chain bridges act as exchange points without KYC (Know-your-customer). An attacker can leave dirty cryptocurrency (derived from criminal activity) on a cross-chain bridge and, in return, receive clean assets on another network.

How cross-chain bridges help hide the origin of funds:

• When cross-chain bridges are used, a gap is created in the chain of asset movement; the trail of cryptocurrency is as if “lost”;
• In recent years, a large number of different cross-chain bridges with support for almost all popular blockchains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Tron, BNB Chain, and others) have appeared;
• Most cross-chain bridges operate in a decentralized manner and do not require identity verification (KYC);
• Attackers can break assets into small pieces and send them to different cross-chain bridges to make it harder to track the movement of cryptocurrency.

Illicit transaction volumes

According to Elliptic, nearly $22 billion has already been laundered using cross-chain bridges between 2022 and 2025. Criminals have learned to make it much harder to track assets on the blockchain thanks to cross-chain bridges. More than a third of illicit transactions involved more than three blockchains. In 27% of cases, criminals used more than five blockchains. 20% of cryptocurrency laundering schemes used more than ten blockchains to hide the chain of funds movement.

Data: Elliptic

Volume of digital asset laundering via cross-chain bridges

Cross-chain bridges were one of the main tools for laundering the cryptocurrency stolen from the Bybit exchange in February 2025. The hack was the largest in history as hackers managed to steal $1,5 billion in assets. North Korean hackers from the Lazarus Group are suspected of being involved in the Bybit hack.

How to launder $1,5 billion worth of crypto in 5 easy steps. Lazarus Group case

Crypto exchange Bybit managed to block only $42,8 million. This is less than 3% of the total value of stolen assets

Read more