TL;DR
- Garden celebrated processing $2 billion in swaps, but investigator ZachXBT alleged substantial money laundering.
- Other accusations, such as those from investigator Tayvano, suggest that North Korean (DPRK) hackers are using the platform.
- Critics point to Garden’s centralization and its 10 BTC swap limit as an attraction for illicit actors.
The young Bitcoin bridging app, Garden, is at the center of a serious controversy. Recently, the platform celebrated an impressive milestone: processing over $2 billion in token swaps.
Its founder, Jaz Gurati, celebrated the achievement, but the celebration was quickly overshadowed by harsh accusations from crypto community “sleuths,” led by the well-known figure ZachXBT, who accused Garden of facilitating large-scale money laundering.
ZachXBT was blunt, alleging that the platform is making millions in profits from this alleged money laundering and refuses to return the funds or acknowledge the problem. The investigator differentiated this case from others, like Tornado Cash (which he considers genuinely decentralized) or THORChain (with broad legitimate use).
According to ZachXBT, Garden’s more centralized nature, combined with a recent increase in its swap limit to 10 BTC, has made it attractive to illicit actors looking to launder over $1 million per transaction.
DPRK Connections and the Weakness of “White Hats”
The accusations escalated when Tayvano, another security investigator, backed the concerns and went a step further, alleging that hackers linked to North Korea (DPRK) were conducting money laundering operations through Garden.
Although Tayvano did not provide specific proof, she claimed the company is “certainly aware” of the DPRK-related discrepancies, dismissing Gurati’s responses and accusing Garden of not taking security or compliance seriously.
But, ZachXBT may have had previous disputes with Gurati’s businesses, which could diminish his neutrality, the seriousness of the accusations has raised alarm.
However, the incident uncovers an uncomfortable undercurrent: the apparent weakness of community watchdogs or “white hats.” Even if the accusations about the Garden app and North Korean money laundering are correct, it is unclear what real repercussions the platform will face.
In the current climate, with reduced crypto enforcement in the U.S. and the slowness of international agencies, community pressure might be insufficient. ZachXBT expressed hope that “a government” would act, but if Garden is really profiting from illicit activities, popular support may be irrelevant to its bottom line.
