A scandal has erupted in the crypto community surrounding Garden Finance, accused of receiving a significant portion of its revenues from laundering funds stolen in the Bybit hack.
Accusations Against Garden Finance
On-chain investigator ZachXBT claims that the Garden Finance protocol has earned over 80% of its recent $300,000 in fees from funds stolen in the Bybit hack. This hack took place on February 21, 2025, when North Korean state-sponsored hackers from the Lazarus Group exploited vulnerabilities in Bybit's multi-signature authentication to siphon off 401,347 Ethereum, worth over $1.4 billion. This allegation has sparked discussions about the integrity of decentralized platforms.
Garden Finance's Response to Accusations
Garden Finance co-founder Jaz Gulati responded to the claims, asserting that 30 BTC in fees were collected before the hack. However, ZachXBT doubled down, citing additional links to other DPRK-related hacks and indicating that the majority of their recent earnings stem from those illicit funds. He posted on X: "You conveniently left out >80% of your fees came from Chinese launderers moving Lazarus Group funds from the Bybit hack."
Implications for the Cryptocurrency Industry
The emerging accusations have sparked discussions on whether platforms facilitating such financial flows might be deemed accomplices to crime. As regulators worldwide may take a closer look at cryptocurrency protocols, this revelation could influence trust in DeFi and potentially lead to stricter oversight.
The allegations against Garden Finance raise important questions about transparency and accountability in decentralized financial protocols, which may ultimately affect the trust in DeFi.
