- Three new wallets withdrew 4,920 ETH worth about $16.25 million from Tornado Cash and sold around $3,302 per ETH, Lookonchain reported.
- The transfers arrived shortly after wallets tied on-chain to HEX founder Richard Heart had deposited 162,937 ETH (about $619 million) into Tornado Cash earlier in 2024. Attribution for the latest moves is still unclear.
- Ethereum fell 13.06% this week to about $3,353.68, with market cap down 2.53% daily to $404.77 billion while privacy-routed flows drew fresh scrutiny.
Lookonchain tracked a fresh sequence of Tornado Cash withdrawals involving three newly active wallets that together pulled out 4,920 ETH, valued at roughly $16.25 million. The ETH was moved at about $3,302 per coin. The size and timing attracted attention because the addresses were not long-lived and were funded entirely via the privacy mixer.
Transfers Came After Earlier $619M Deposit Linked On-Chain To Richard Heart
The new transactions followed earlier 2024 activity that on-chain analysts tied to Richard Heart, the founder of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX. Those earlier moves showed 162,937 ETH, worth about $619 million at an average price of $3,800, being deposited into Tornado Cash two days before the latest withdrawals.
Related: Is the PlusToken Scam Back? $2 Billion in Ethereum Transferred
Current data does not confirm the 4,920 ETH belongs to Heart, so analysts have kept the link as coincidental rather than proven.
Wallet Path Shows Layering-Like Movement
The on-chain data revealed a detailed transfer sequence involving multiple inflows of 100 ETH each, equivalent to approximately $342,000 per transaction, from Tornado Cash to wallet 0x3dE…8ff1A…, totaling approximately 800 ETH ($2.7 million).
About five hours later, of these transactions, the wallet transferred large amounts to 0x3E4…AF44a…, including 3,186 ETH (approximately $10.58 million), 10.54 million USDS, and a minor 0.11 ETH.
Analysts noted that this transactional pattern resembled a layering process, a common technique used to separate digital assets across multiple addresses to conceal the source of funds. While Tornado Cash functions as a privacy tool enabling anonymous transfers, it has often been used to mask large-scale movements of cryptocurrencies between unidentified wallets.
Ongoing Activity, Historical Context, and Market Impact on Ethereum
Lookonchain’s records show that Heart or wallets associated with him had previously moved 153,241 ETH ($608 million) across multiple new wallets in October. Additional deposits to Tornado Cash included 25,000 ETH ($102 million) on October 26 and 112,978 ETH ($366.4 million) over an eight-hour period, signaling consistent high-volume transfers.
Over the same period, Ethereum (ETH) experienced a 13.06% weekly decline, dropping to $3,353.68 as of the time of writing. Data from CoinMarketCap showed a 2.53% daily decrease in market capitalization, now at $404.77 billion, alongside a 24-hour trading volume of $37.9 billion.
Related: ETH Foundation Pledges $1.25M for Tornado Cash Developer Defense
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Source: https://coinedition.com/16-25m-in-ethereum-leaves-tornado-cash-as-eth-price-slides/
