Railgun Dismisses Allegations of North Korea’s Involvement in Cryptocurrency Laundering

Railgun, a cryptocurrency privacy protocol, has firmly denied accusations linking it to North Korea’s Lazarus Group for cryptocurrency laundering purposes. The dismissal came in response to claims made by crypto news reporter WuBlockchain, with Railgun labeling the assertions as “false reporting.” The allegations stemmed from an FBI statement in January 2023, alleging that North Korean cyber attackers had utilized Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of Ether (ETH) from the 2022 Harmony Bridge heist.

However, Railgun clarified that the alleged group had been blocked from utilizing their system by the “Private Proofs of Innocence” mechanism, implemented over a year ago. This assertion contradicts previous references to Railgun as a “prime alternative to Tornado Cash” following U.S. government sanctions on the crypto mixer.

Established in January 2021, Railgun utilizes zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography to safeguard wallet balances, transaction history, and details. This approach enables users to interact with decentralized apps (DApps) on Ethereum and other supported chains while preserving their privacy.

The platform gained attention when Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sent 100 ETH ($325,000) to Railgun. Buterin praised Railgun, emphasizing the importance of privacy and highlighting how the privacy pools protocol enhances security by making it more challenging for malicious actors to engage in the pool.

Following Buterin’s endorsement, Railgun’s native token, RAIL, experienced a surge in value, rallying to $1.17 and marking an 86% increase over the past seven days. Additionally, Railgun’s total volume surged, nearing the $1 billion mark, while its total value locked on Ethereum surpassed $25 million.

Railgun’s response underscores its commitment to maintaining integrity and security within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, while its innovative privacy-focused approach continues to attract attention and investment.

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