Elliptic says north korean hackers create meme tokens on near to launder crypto hack funds
Elliptic traced six new meme tokens launched on NEAR between Nov 5-7, each costing roughly $90, and identified about 117,000 NEAR ($430,000) moved through decentralized liquidity pools to obscure the source of the funds.
Key takeaways
- 1Six meme tokens launched on NEAR, each costing about $90
- 2Approximately 117,000 NEAR ($430,000) routed through DEX liquidity pools
Elliptic said north korean hackers created meme tokens on the NEAR blockchain between Nov 5 and Nov 7 to launder proceeds from a major crypto hack.
The firm tracked six distinct tokens, each launched at a cost of roughly $90. Together they moved about 117,000 NEAR, worth approximately $430,000, through decentralized exchange liquidity pools. By routing the assets through multiple pools, the attackers aimed to break the transaction trail. Elliptic noted that a comparable approach was employed after the 2025 Bybit hack.
Elliptic provides blockchain-forensic services to identify illicit flows. NEAR is a fast, low-fee layer-1 platform that enables developers to mint tokens for a few dollars. This low entry cost has attracted a wave of meme-token projects. Such tokens often have little intrinsic value but can be used as vehicles to move stolen crypto across chains.
The activity signals that threat actors are exploiting inexpensive token creation on emerging networks to mask illicit proceeds. This raises concerns for AML supervisors worldwide. Exchanges that list NEAR-based assets may need to tighten due-diligence on sudden token launches. Analysts will monitor further NEAR meme-token issuances and coordinate with law-enforcement to trace the remaining stolen funds.
Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.