US adds Blender.io crypto mixing service to North Korean sanctions list

Quick Take

  • The US has sanctioned Blender.io after linking it with money laundering by North Korea.
  • North Koreans used Blender.io to process $20.5 million out of the almost $620 million stolen in the Axie Infinity attack.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control added the crypto mixer Blender.io to its list of organizations sanctioned for dealing with North Korea.

In a press release on Friday, the US government linked the site to use by groups in North Korea to launder stolen cryptocurrency, including in the attack against Axie Infinity's Ronin Bridge in March. It says North Koreans used Blender.io to process $20.5 million out of the almost $620 million stolen. 

“Today, for the first time ever, [the] Treasury is sanctioning a virtual currency mixer,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson in the statement.

“Virtual currency mixers that assist illicit transactions pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. We are taking action against illicit financial activity by the DPRK and will not allow state-sponsored thievery and its money-laundering enablers to go unanswered.”

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Along with listing 46 addresses linked to Blender.io, the Treasury also added four new wallet addresses used by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which has been sanctioned since 2019.

According to the Treasury, Blender.io has facilitated the transfer of over $500 million in bitcoin since its launch in 2017. The investigation has also linked it to money-laundering transactions by Russian-linked ransomware groups Trickbot, Conti, Ryuk, Sodinokibi and Gandcrab.

The Treasury said it will continue to investigate the use of mixers for illicit purposes and consider the range of authorities it has to respond to crypto financing risks.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Callan Quinn is an NFT, gaming and metaverse reporter. She started her career working for the expat magazine City Weekend in Guangzhou, China. She also has worked as a business journalist in the UK, Somaliland and the republic of Georgia. Before joining The Block, she was a freelance journalist covering the Chinese tech industry. She speaks Mandarin, French and German. Get in touch via Twitter @quinnishvili or email [email protected].