Hackers allegedly laundered Bybit hack funds through eXch’s platform. eXch denies responsibility for handling stolen funds through statements to the media.
The Bybit hack is one of many crypto hacks. Let’s examine the hack and the exchanges involved.
The Bybit Hack
On February 21, hackers pulled off one of the biggest crypto heists in history. They drained over $1.4 billion from Bybit’s Ether multi-sig cold wallet. Blockchain investigators have monitored the stolen funds since the hack occurred, and reports state that some of the stolen funds went to eXch.
Lazarus Group: The North Korean Hackers Behind Bybit’s $1.5 Billion Crypto Heist
👇1-11) North Korean hackers are behind most crypto attacks, deploying specialized teams focusing exclusively on a single exchange or crypto service provider. The @Bybit_Official exchange hack,… pic.twitter.com/SUJLnJaG54
— 10x Research (@10x_Research) February 21, 2025
eXch’s Response to the Allegations
A BitCointalk forum statement issued on February 23 confirms that eXch rejects laundering stolen funds that the North Korean Lazarus Group obtained from the hack. The trading platform declared uninterrupted operations and ensured the safety of all platform assets.
Source: Bitcointalk
The exchange admitted the system experienced limited involvement with stolen funds. The team declared this a solitary incident while assuring the donation of any related fees to public causes.
Onchain Investigators Weigh In
Onchain sleuth ZachXBT and security firm SlowMist allege that eXch processed $35 million of the stolen Bybit funds. Nick Bax, a member of the Security Alliance, estimated that eXch facilitated around $30 million worth of transactions for Lazarus Group on the day of the hack.
By my estimate, eXch did about $30M of volume for DPRK today. Curious to see how long they can keep this up.
If you use eXch… don’t be surprised when any service with a compliance program starts doing enhanced due diligence on your source of funds. https://t.co/qTSJwH5VLq pic.twitter.com/7LEzdZVQGR
— Nick Bax.eth (@bax1337) February 22, 2025
eXch sent 34 ETH worth $96,000 to another exchange’s hot wallet, which caused experts to doubt their involvement in the hack.
Tensions Between Bybit and eXch
Bybit continues to recover stolen funds by freezing assets worth more than $42 million via collaborative actions. However, when Bybit contacted eXch for help blocking the outflow of stolen funds, the response was cold.
A coordinated effort led to the freezing of $42.89M in just one day. Thanks to the following teams for their swift action: @Tether_to: Flagged address and froze 181K USDT @THORChain: Blocked the blacklist @ChangeNOW_io: Froze 34 ETH @FixedFloat: Froze 120K USDC + USDT…
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 23, 2025
eXch accused Bybit of previously freezing its users’ funds and failing to communicate, questioning why they should now assist the exchange. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou responded,
At this point is really not about bybit or any entity, it’s about our general approach towards hackers as an industry, really hope that @eXch can reconsider and help us to block funds outflowing from them. We are also getting help from Interpool and international regulatory… https://t.co/wRzN925X9l
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 23, 2025
Conclusion
Reports show that the Bybit hack incident continues to play out as investigators search for the unaccounted funds. The refusal from eXch demonstrates how complex it is to halt stolen cryptocurrencies from completing laundering transactions. During investigations, exchange platform security practices and operational cooperation are being tested.
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