2025-03-05
Bybit hacker stole $1.4 billion worth
of cryptocurrencies from the exchange Bybit on February 21.
This was the biggest crypto theft in
history. The stolen funds included staked Ethereum (ETH) and other ERC-20
tokens.
The hacker has laundered all the stolen
499,395 ETH (currently worth $1.04 billion), mainly through a decentralized platform called
THORChain. A security firm, Lookonchain, reported this on March 4.
North Korea’s Lazarus Group Suspected
Multiple blockchain security firms
believe North Korea’s Lazarus Group was behind the attack.
South Korean authorities had recently
sanctioned 15 North Koreans for using stolen cryptocurrency to fund nuclear
weapons programs.
Even though most of the stolen funds
have been moved and laundered, experts believe a small portion might still be
recovered.
Some Stolen Funds May Be Traced
Deddy Lavid, CEO of blockchain security
firm Cyvers, said that advanced tracking tools and cooperation with exchanges
could help recover some of the funds.
However, once the money is mixed and
swapped across different platforms, recovery becomes much harder.
Bybit’s CEO, Ben Zhou, confirmed on
March 4 that about 77% of the stolen funds were still traceable, but $280
million had completely disappeared. About 3% of the funds have been frozen.
Bybit Covered Customer Losses
Despite the massive theft, Bybit
allowed users to withdraw their money and replaced the stolen $1.4 billion by
February 24, just three days after the hack.
Preventing Future Hacks
Crypto security firms like Cyvers are
developing new security methods to prevent future attacks. One promising
solution is "offchain transaction validation," which could prevent
99% of crypto scams by checking transactions before they happen.
