Bybit CEO Says 77% of Stolen Funds From Record $1.4B Hack Still Traceable

Key Points

  • Over 77% of the funds stolen in the Bybit hack remain traceable, while 20% have "gone dark" and are untraceable.
  • Hackers converted 83% of the stolen ETH into BTC, distributing it across 6,954 wallets.
  • THORChain processed $4.66 billion in swaps, earning over $5.5 million in fees from the illicit flows.
  • North Korean hacking group Lazarus targeted Bybit by injecting malicious code into SafeWallet, stealing nearly $1.5 billion in ETH.

Summary

In a significant cyberattack on the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, hackers managed to steal nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum (ETH). According to Bybit's CEO Ben Zhou, over 77% of these funds remain traceable on the blockchain, while 20% have become untraceable. The hackers have been actively laundering the stolen assets, converting a significant portion into Bitcoin (BTC) and distributing it across thousands of wallets. The attack was carried out by the North Korean hacking group Lazarus, who exploited a vulnerability in SafeWallet, a third-party wallet platform used by Bybit. Despite the breach, Bybit has restored a 1:1 backing of client assets. The traceable funds have been moved using privacy-focused platforms like THORChain, which saw a record high in transaction volume, partly due to these illicit activities. The coming weeks are critical for freezing these funds as they begin to clear at various exchanges and through over-the-counter and peer-to-peer transactions.

coindesk
March 4, 2025
Crypto
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