The rest were scattered. ZachXBT traced more than $12 million to deposit addresses on the KuCoin exchange and around $8 million to instant exchange services, which convert one currency into another quickly and often without identity checks.
Another $8 million was transferred from Tron to the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks via Near Intents, a cross-chain exchange tool. Spreading funds across currencies, exchanges, and blockchains is a common way to break through.
Then Tether intervened. The company can freeze USDT held at a specific address, and ZachXBT said it blacklisted an address linked to the entity holding 72 million USDT. Once frozen, those tokens cannot be moved or cashed out.
It is unclear where the $120 million originally came from. But the pattern—rapid movement toward a privacy currency, instant swaps, and cross-chain hopping—is the kind used to launder illicit funds, and the Tether freeze suggests it came to the same conclusion.
