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Blender.io

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[AI-DRAFTED · AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.

anchored·5cSoyy…ptwh

Summary

Blender.io was a Bitcoin mixing service that operated from approximately 2018 to 2022, processing over $500 million in Bitcoin before being shut down. On May 6, 2022, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated it as a Specially Designated National, marking the first time a virtual currency mixer had ever been sanctioned by the United States government. The service was designated for its role in laundering over $20.5 million in proceeds from North Korea's Lazarus Group following the $620 million Ronin Network hack, as well as for processing funds tied to Russian ransomware groups and the Hydra darknet market.

Connected Entities

1 entities
Organizations
□Blender.io
Relationships
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    Timeline(10 events)

    2017

    Blender.io established as a Bitcoin mixing service; exact launch date not publicly confirmed but referenced as circa 2017 by U.S. Treasury.

    23 March 2022

    Lazarus Group executes the Ronin Network hack, stealing approximately $620 million in cryptocurrency from the Axie Infinity bridge.

    29 March 2022

    Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity developer) and Ronin Network publicly disclose the breach, six days after the theft occurred.

    6 May 2022

    OFAC designates Blender.io as a Specially Designated National, the first-ever sanctions action against a virtual currency mixer. 45 Bitcoin addresses linked to Blender.io are added to the SDN list.

    8 August 2022

    OFAC sanctions Tornado Cash, the Ethereum-based mixer, following the Blender.io precedent.

    October 2022

    Blender.io ceases operations; approximate shutdown date based on DOJ indictment stating the service operated from approximately 2018 to 2022.

    13 February 2023

    Elliptic publishes analysis concluding that Sinbad.io is a relaunch of Blender.io operated by the same individuals, based on on-chain transaction analysis.

    29 November 2023

    OFAC sanctions Sinbad.io as the successor to Blender.io and the Lazarus Group's preferred mixing service. Law enforcement in the Netherlands and Finland seize Sinbad.io's servers.

    December 2024

    Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, alleged Russian operators of Blender.io and Sinbad.io, are arrested.

    7 January 2025

    Federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returns indictments against Ostapenko, Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov for conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses. Tarasov remains at large.

    Provenance & Audit Trail
    Anchored on SolanaVerify on-chain

    Decision Log

    This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 0 of 15 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.

    full audit log →version history →

    model: claude-sonnet-4-6

    generated: 5/30/2026, 6:24:58 PM

    last updated: 8/29/2026, 1:33:31 AM

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