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Hacker group Lazarus, known for high-profile crypto hacks, has been accused of stealing $1.4 billion from Singapore-based exchange Bybit last week. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has traced some of the stolen funds through a series of cross-chain transfers and uncovered sophisticated laundering tactics.

On February 22, ZachXBT reported that a hacker transferred $1.08 million in USDC stablecoins to wallet “0x3639…7d1,” from which they were forwarded to the Solana blockchain . The assets were then moved to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) via wallet “EFmqz…dq2P” and distributed to more than 30 addresses.

Transaction history shows that the funds were later consolidated in wallet “0x0be9…55a3”, which distributed 106,000 USDC across 10 BSC wallets, then moved back to Solana.

The on-chain detective found that several recipient addresses were linked to fraudulent memcoin transactions. ZachXBT noted that the wallet owner had previously created dubious memcoins on the Solana network on the Pump fun platform.

On February 23, ZachXBT identified over 920 addresses associated with the hack, linking them to the money laundering methods of the Lazarus Group hackers. The cryptocurrencies ended up passing through multiple crypto mixers and exchanges, making them difficult to track.

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These agencies are the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Google's (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) new rules come into effect on February 26 and will apply globally to all accounts that advertise cryptocurrency financial products in the UAE.

Google reported that the UAE has become one of the leading crypto hubs in the Middle East, with more than 30% of the population owning cryptocurrency. The popularity of digital assets and their investment appeal has increased significantly after the announcement that the UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala invested $436 million in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF.

According to Google analysts, the monetary volumes for promoting and advertising crypto companies and exchanges in the UAE can vary from $500,000 to $20 million per year per advertiser, depending on the scale of the business. The overall cryptocurrency advertising market in the UAE can reach $50-100 million per year. This includes expenses on digital advertising (Google Ads, social networks), local partnerships, sponsorship of events (for example, Crypto Expo Dubai), as well as PR campaigns.

Earlier, an amendment came into force in the United Arab Emirates on the exemption from value added tax (VAT) for all cryptocurrency transactions of individuals and legal entities.

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