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Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has leveled serious accusations against Garden Finance, a Bitcoin bridge, alleging its involvement in laundering funds from major crypto hacks, including those linked to the North Korean Lazarus Group. This controversy erupted after Garden Finance co-founder Jaz Gulati highlighted the platform's recent fee revenue.
Key Takeaways
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ZachXBT alleges Garden Finance laundered funds from major crypto hacks, including those linked to the Lazarus Group.
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Over 80% of Garden Finance's recent fee revenue is claimed to be from illicit transactions.
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ZachXBT questioned the platform's decentralization, citing a single entity's continuous liquidity provision.
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Garden Finance co-founder Jaz Gulati denies the allegations, stating a significant portion of fees were collected before the Bybit incident.
Allegations of Illicit Fund Laundering
ZachXBT's claims, made on June 21, assert that over 80% of Garden Finance's recent fee revenue originated from illicit transactions. Specifically, these funds are allegedly tied to the Lazarus Group and the Bybit hack. This accusation directly challenged Gulati's earlier post, which celebrated the platform's success, noting 38.86 Bitcoin (BTC) in collected fees, with $300,000 earned in the 12 days leading up to June 2.
Questioning Decentralization Claims
ZachXBT further scrutinized Garden Finance's claims of being a trustless and decentralized platform. The sleuth alleged that a single entity consistently replenished cbBTC liquidity from Coinbase, suggesting a centralized point of control rather than a truly decentralized operation. This observation raises questions about the platform's operational integrity and its adherence to decentralized principles.
Garden Finance's Response
Jaz Gulati, co-founder of Garden Finance, has vehemently denied ZachXBT's allegations. Gulati stated that 30 BTC in fees were collected prior to the Bybit incident, dismissing the criticism as misinformation and labeling the "fake decentralized" claim as baseless. Garden Finance promotes itself as a platform enabling cross-chain swaps within 30 seconds with zero custody risk.
Platform Statistics
According to its Dune Analytics dashboard, Garden Finance has facilitated substantial activity:
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Total Volume: Over 24,984 BTC (more than $1.5 billion)
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Atomic Swaps: 40,571
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Total Fees Collected: 40.11 BTC
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Largest Single Swap: 10 BTC
These figures highlight the significant volume of transactions processed by the platform, even as it faces serious allegations regarding the source of some of its funds.
Sources
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Garden Finance Laundered Lazarus Hack Funds, Cointelegraph.
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ZachXBT slams Bitcoin bridge Garden Finance for laundering hacked funds, Crypto Adventure.
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