The post Bybit’s $1.46B Hack: Recovery Efforts Begin as North Korean Laundering Operation Unfolds appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

TLDR: North Korean hackers have begun laundering approximately $140 million (10%) of the $1.46 billion stolen from Bybit through anonymous exchange services and conversion to Bitcoin Bybit is offering a 10% bounty (up to $140 million) for help recovering the stolen assets, while experiencing massive user withdrawals totaling around $6 billion Exchanges and stablecoin issuers have frozen $42.85 million in stolen funds through coordinated efforts, with Tether freezing 181,000 USDT The hack has been linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group by both Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence, based on their typical laundering patterns Anonymous exchange eXch has processed “tens of millions” in stolen assets despite Bybit’s requests to block the activity, claiming past reputational conflicts North Korean hackers have initiated the laundering process for approximately $140 million of the $1.46 billion stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, marking the start of what could be a lengthy recovery effort for the largest theft in crypto history. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic reported on Saturday that the stolen funds are being methodically moved through anonymous exchanges and converted to Bitcoin, making the assets increasingly difficult to trace and recover. The hackers distributed the stolen assets across 50 different wallets immediately after the theft, with each wallet containing approximately 10,000 ETH. These wallets are now being systematically emptied as the funds undergo conversion to Bitcoin. The attackers began by converting stolen tokens such as stETH and cmETH to Ethereum using decentralized exchanges. According to Elliptic, this strategy aligns with the typical methods employed by the Lazarus Group, which often converts stolen tokens to “native” blockchain assets before further obscuring the trail. Both Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence have connected the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, citing the use of decentralized exchanges and other services, including cross-chain bridges and coin swap services. The group has stolen over…

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Filed under: News - @ February 24, 2025 5:18 pm