Railgun Denies North Korea Ties because it Approaches $1B Complete Quantity

Crypto privateness protocol Railgun has denied accusations that it’s being utilized by North Korea and different United States-sanctioned entities to launder digital belongings.

This growth comes because the crypto privateness protocol nears $1B complete quantity.

Railgun Denies Lazarus Group Affiliation

Responding to claims made by crypto reporter Colin Wu by way of an X post, Railgun denied allegations linking it to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.

“The North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group can be a person of the coin mixer Railgun,” the put up acknowledged. “Railgun is seen as the principle various to Twister Money after the sanctions have been imposed on it,” the crew added.

Wu’s put up referenced an FBI statement from January 2023 that accused Railgun of getting used to launder over $60 million price of Ethereum stolen through the 2022 Concord Bridge heist.

RAILGUN protocol: “Any suggestion that sanctioned people, governments, or entities corresponding to North Korea have used RAILGUN haven’t any proof & are primarily based solely on hypothesis.” From 2023, all RAILGUN transactions undergo a Non-public Proofs of Innocence examine which verifies that…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 16, 2024

“This isn’t true, and it’s false reporting,” Railgun acknowledged. The crew affirmed that the Lazarus group can’t entry the Railgun system because of its ‘Non-public Proofs of Innocence’ system, which grew to become operational over a yr in the past. Railgun additionally dismissed the accusation as a mistaken and false declare.

This growth comes amidst a surge in Railgun’s complete quantity, which is about to interrupt the $1 billion mark. Data from Dune Analytics reveals that Railgun has reached $962.81 million in complete quantity, with its complete worth locked on Ethereum surpassing $25 million.

Buterin’s Endorsement of Railgun

The protocol’s rise in reputation has been additional propelled by an endorsement from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who not too long ago defended it whereas praising its privateness options.

“Privateness is regular,” Buterin affirmed. “Railgun makes use of the privateness swimming pools protocol, which makes it a lot more durable for unhealthy actors to affix the pool with out compromising customers’ privateness.”

In the meantime, Buterin has transferred 100 ETH (roughly $325,000) to Railgun throughout the final two days, in response to data from Arkham Intelligence. Over the previous six months, he has engaged with Railgun a number of occasions, usually interacting with the platform utilizing small quantities of ETH every month.

Railgun, established in January 2021, leverages zero-knowledge cryptography to defend pockets balances, transaction historical past, and transaction particulars. This enables prospects to make use of decentralized apps (DApps) whereas safeguarding their privateness.

The introduction of Non-public Proofs of Innocence in January 2023 has elevated Railgun’s safety measures because it now makes use of cryptographic assurance to confirm the legitimacy of funds getting into its sensible contract.