The Bybit hacker carried out a historic crypto heist, stealing over $1.4 billion and laundering most of the proceeds within 10 days. Security experts claim they could retrieve the funds despite the operation’s success.
The Bybit hacker succeeded in carrying out this massive attack on Bybit. Is there any chance of recovery for both bybit and its users? Let’s break it down.
How the Bybit Hacker Pulled It Off
On February 21, Bybit suffered a massive hack. The exchange lost over 500,000 ETH, now worth around $1.04 billion. Other stolen assets included Mantle Staked ETH (mETH) and various ERC-20 tokens. The hacker executed the most significant theft of cryptocurrency in history.
The #Bybit hacker has laundered all the stolen 499,395 $ETH($1.04B currently), mainly through #THORChain.https://t.co/VSpKk7KSNp pic.twitter.com/HL4gb9f4e8
โ Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 4, 2025
The hacker implemented their actions right after the breach. The hackers used THORChain for rapid fund transfers as they bypassed holding the stolen funds. The inability of authorities to follow and freeze the digital assets became easier because of this tactic.
INSANE: ๐ฑ
$1.04 BILLION STOLEN โ and successfully laundered.
Bybit hacker moved 499,395 $ETH via THORChain.
One of the biggest crypto heists everโฆ and nobody can stop it. pic.twitter.com/lmbq7CpM7I
โ Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) March 5, 2025
Many security firms, including Arkham Intelligence, have linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The group is a cybercrime organization known for large-scale crypto thefts. The sanction was issued by South Korea just two months after it sanctioned 15 North Korean people. The South Korean government blamed the attacks on crypto theft that supported their nuclear program.
Any Possibility of Recovery?
The hacker’s deception efforts had no impact on the recovery methods initially supported by Bitcoin security. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou reports that the stolen funds make up 77% of the funds still traceable. The frozen portion of stolen funds amounts to 3%, while $280 million remains untraced.
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 andโฆโ Ben Zhou (@benbybit) March 4, 2025
Blockchain security professionals state that components of stolen funds have potential recovery possibilities. The correct implementation of technology solutions presents the possibility of recovering certain parts from the system. The combination of washers with cross-chain swaps makes it difficult for executives to monitor digital assets, according to Cyvers CEO Deddy Lavid. Through AI-based models, it becomes feasible to monitor financial assets. Working together with exchanges and regulators enables the freezing of stolen funds.
โ๏ธ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ค – ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐โ๏ธ
Following our initial reports on the $1.5 ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฒ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ก๐๐๐ค, weโve receivedโฆ pic.twitter.com/IRPKUyRpBaโ ๐จ Cyvers Alerts ๐จ (@CyversAlerts) February 27, 2025
The key factor behind this scheme remains the lightning speed at which transactions need to occur. The more money is mixed throughout numerous transactions, the more difficult recovery becomes.
Conclusionย
The Bybit hacker may have pulled off a record-breaking heist, but security experts aren’t giving up yet. Blockchain intelligence, AI tracking, and global cooperation could still recover stolen funds.
Disclaimer
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