Bybit CEO confirms that $280M of the stolen $1.4B is no longer traceable
The post Bybit CEO confirms that $280M of the stolen $1.4B is no longer traceable appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Bybit CEO has said that 20% of the $1.4B stolen from the exchange is now untraceable. Hackers converted $1B in ETH to BTC via THORChain and spread it. So far, 11 bounty hunters have assisted in freezing $42M of the stolen funds. In a stunning update, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has revealed that $280 million of the $1.4 billion stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange in the February hack has vanished into untraceable channels. 3.4.25 Executive Summary on Hacked Funds: Total hacked funds of USD 1.4bn around 500k ETH, 77% are still traceable, 20% has gone dark, 3% have been frozen. Breakdown: – 83% (417,348 ETH, ~$1B) have been converted into BTC with 6,954 wallets (Average 1.71 btc each) . This and… — Ben Zhou (@benbybit) March 4, 2025 The security breach, attributed to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus, saw approximately 500,000 Ether (ETH) pilfered from Bybit’s reserves. While the majority of the funds remains visible on the blockchain, Zhou’s announcement underscores the challenges facing investigators as they race against time to freeze the assets before the hackers fully cash out. The attack exploited vulnerabilities in SafeWallet, a third-party wallet platform used by Bybit. Lazarus hackers compromised a developer’s device, injecting malicious code that allowed them to siphon off nearly $1.5 billion in ETH during a routine transfer. Despite Bybit’s swift action to restore 1:1 backing of client assets within days, the hackers have been relentlessly moving the stolen funds across multiple platforms, complicating recovery efforts. Hackers leveraged THORChain to fragment funds A significant portion of the stolen Ether—417,348 ETH valued at around $1 billion—has been converted into Bitcoin (BTC) and scattered across 6,954 wallets, each holding an average of 1.71 BTC. Zhou noted that 72% of the haul, or 361,255 ETH worth $900 million, was funneled through THORChain, a…
Filed under: News - @ March 4, 2025 11:18 am