KelpDAO Hacker Swaps 75,700 ETH for BTC in $175M Transaction

A recent on-chain transaction has raised concerns about the security of DeFi protocols and the ease of asset laundering. The hacker linked to the KelpDAO exploit swapped approximately 75,700 ETH for BTC in a single large-scale transaction valued at around $175 million.

The swap was flagged by on-chain tracking tools shortly after execution and marks one of the larger post-exploit asset rotations tracked in recent months. The wallet tied to the KelpDAO exploit has been identified as 0xF9802c5EB6b972Ba686aFa7CA615910Ea8310b85, which has been flagged by blockchain intelligence platforms.

The conversion of ETH to BTC creates a new challenge for investigators, who must bridge analytics across both chains. The fact that the wallet was already tagged suggests that tracking efforts are active, but the conversion may complicate recovery efforts if the funds are subsequently moved through privacy-enhancing tools or additional cross-chain hops.