Elliptic says memecoins routed $430,000 from Binance theft

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic says wallets linked to the theft of cryptocurrency from Binance routed about 117,000 NEAR tokens, worth roughly $430,000 at the time, through six newly created memecoins between November 5 and 7. Elliptic said the route used decentralized exchange liquidity pools to separate wallets buying the tokens with stolen funds from wallets collecting the proceeds.

The tokens were paired with NEAR in separate pools. According to Elliptic, one group of wallets used stolen NEAR to buy them, while another sold the tokens into the pools and received NEAR in return. The pool stood between the groups, so funds did not move directly from a buying wallet to a collecting wallet.

Elliptic said this arrangement can make receiving wallets resemble traders collecting proceeds from token sales. The six tokens were later abandoned, and much of the NEAR collected moved into stablecoins or crosschain bridges, according to the firm. The reported amount routed through them is a small portion of the broader theft.

The tokens included animal-themed logos and one image of Elon Musk alongside an “Elon 2028 President” banner. Elliptic said there was no indication Musk was...