🚨 ZachXBT vs. Garden Finance: Bitcoin Bridge or Laundering Hub?

[cryptoenthusiast]

Crypto sleuth ZachXBT has accused Garden Finance — which markets itself as “the fastest Bitcoin bridge” — of laundering funds tied to major hacks, including the Bybit exploit.

In a June 21 post on X, Zach alleged that:

80%+ of Garden’s recent fee revenue came from laundering Lazarus Group funds.

🪣 A single actor repeatedly topped up cbBTC liquidity from Coinbase, undermining Garden’s claims of being “trustless” and decentralized.

His comments were a direct response to Garden co-founder Jaz Gulati, who had boasted of collecting 38.86 BTC in fees (~$300k in 12 days).

Garden Finance Pushes Back

Gulati denied the accusations, noting 30 BTC in fees were collected before the Bybit hack.

He dismissed the “fake decentralized” label as misinformation.

Claimed Garden uses TRM Labs screening, but attackers cycled fresh wallets to evade detection.

Stated Garden has been working with Bybit, Binance, Coinbase, and analytics firms to track and freeze illicit flows.

By the Numbers (Garden Finance)

24,984 BTC swapped (~$1.5B total volume).

40,571 atomic swaps executed.

40.11 BTC in fees collected to date.

Largest single swap: 10 BTC.

Garden promises 30-second cross-chain swaps with zero custody risk — but the ZachXBT allegations raise tough questions about whether speed came at the cost of compliance.

Wider Context

North Korea’s Lazarus Group continues to be one of the most prolific state-backed hacking syndicates, laundering billions via crypto rails.

Last week, US prosecutors charged Iurii Gugnin (Evita Pay founder) with laundering $530M via stablecoins for sanctioned Russian banks — showing global regulators are now laser-focused on illicit crypto flows.

The Big Question

Is Garden Finance just collateral damage in the war on crypto laundering — or is it knowingly acting as a channel for sanctioned actors while hiding behind decentralization?

What do you think, CT? Are bridges like Garden doomed to become laundering honeypots — or can compliance + decentralization actually coexist?