Wonderland is once again in the spotlight because its treasury manager Sifu has used Tornado Cash to hide his multi-million dollar ETH stash. PeckShield, a blockchain security company, highlighted multiple transactions from an address that has been linked to Sifu. The firm revealed that 1,000 ETH, worth around $2.76 million, was sent from sifu.eth to Tornado Cash – an Ethereum-based tool that crypto investors use to hide the destination of their funds.
PeckShield said the same address had earlier transferred around 2,000 ETH in groups of 100 ether each. The pseudonymous treasury manager has so far transferred over $8.28 million worth of ethereum at existing market rates. Sifu, who is believed to be Michael Patryn – the co-founder of the failed QuadrigaCX, defended his actions saying nothing has been stolen and evidence is on-chain. He scorned PeckShield monitoring the transfer.
Sifu said one can track his wallet to see how he farmed and traded his way from $5 million to nearly $50 million in two years. He highlighted that it involved spending days filtering over 100 Discord groups, surviving rugs – Pickle and Cover. He added there were some lucky directional positions as well.
The Wonderland’s treasury manager explained he used Tornado Cash for privacy. Sifu also said that if an investor lost funds due to his liquidation, he has covered it in Wonderland. He said they will be compensated.
Coin mixers like Tornado Cash have caught the eye of authorities because the services it offers are akin to washing of illicit cash. It is done by buying legit pieces of art through the proceeds of crime and then selling them legally in the open market. Michael Pearl, chief operating officer of Kirobo, says mixers were supposed to be solutions for anonymity. But it has created another category of suspected money sources.
