With the overall momentum of the blockchain industry, crypto-based crimes are becoming more and more prevalent. After committing a crime, the main goal of cybercriminals is to obfuscate the source of the illicit funds in order to convert them into cash and get away with it. Many studies have analyzed money laundering in the field of the traditional financial sector and blockchain-based Bitcoin. But so far, little is known about the characteristics of crypto money laundering in the blockchain-based Web3 ecosystem. To fill this gap, and considering that Ethereum is the largest platform on Web3, in this paper, we systematically study the behavioral characteristics and economic impact of money laundering accounts through the lenses of Ethereum heists. Based on a very small number of tagged accounts of exchange hackers, DeFi exploiters, and scammers, we mine untagged money laundering groups through heuristic transaction tracking methods, to carve out a full picture of security incidents. By analyzing account characteristics and transaction networks, we obtain many interesting findings about crypto money laundering in Web3, observing the escalating money laundering methods such as creating counterfeit tokens and masquerading as speculators. Finally, based on these findings we provide inspiration for anti-money laundering to promote the healthy development of the Web3 ecosystem.

翻译：随着区块链行业的整体发展，基于加密货币的犯罪日益普遍。犯罪后，网络犯罪分子的主要目的是混淆非法资金来源，以便将其转换为现金并逃避追查。已有许多研究分析了传统金融领域和基于区块链的比特币中的洗钱行为。但迄今为止，关于基于区块链的Web3生态系统中加密货币洗钱特征的研究仍然有限。为填补这一空白，并考虑到以太坊是Web3上最大的平台，本文通过以太坊窃案视角，系统研究了洗钱账户的行为特征和经济影响。基于极少数被标记的交易所黑客、DeFi攻击者和诈骗者账户，我们通过启发式交易追踪方法挖掘未标记的洗钱团伙，以勾勒出安全事件的全貌。通过分析账户特征和交易网络，我们获得了关于Web3中加密货币洗钱的许多有趣发现，观察到诸如创建假代币和伪装成投机者等不断升级的洗钱手法。最后，基于这些发现，我们为反洗钱工作提供了启示，以促进Web3生态系统的健康发展。