Bybit’s Ben Zhou: Hackers Turn To BTC Mixers, Urging More Bounty Hunters To Assist In Decoding Transactions
In Brief
Bybit‘ Ben Zhou released an executive summary, revealing that the hacker has been utilizing cryptocurrency mixers such as Wasabi, CryptoMixer, Railgun, and TornadoCash.
CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, Ben Zhou released an executive summary addressing the issue of hacked funds, revealing that the hacker involved has been utilizing cryptocurrency mixers such as Wasabi, CryptoMixer, Railgun, and TornadoCash.
According to the report, the total amount of hacked funds is valued at approximately $1.4 billion, which includes around 500,000 ETH. Of this total, 88.87% of the funds remain traceable, 7.59% are considered to have gone “dark,” and 3.54% have been frozen.
In terms of breakdown, 86.29% of the hacked funds, 440,091 ETH, roughly $1.23 billion, were converted into 12,836 BTC, distributed across 9,117 wallets, with an average of 1.41 BTC per wallet. Bybit has observed that the hacker has shifted to using a BTC mixer, specifically 193 BTC being routed through Wasabi Mixer, which employs a method called CoinJoin to obfuscate Bitcoin transactions and enhance privacy.
After using the mixer, the funds were further distributed to various peer-to-peer vendors. The Bybit team believes that this trend will continue, with an increasing amount of funds passing through mixers. As such, decoding transactions that have been mixed has become one of the primary challenges they face.
Ben Zhou emphasized that Bybit is still seeking assistance from the community in tracking down these funds. Over the past 30 days, the platform has received 5,012 bounty reports, of which 63 were deemed valid. Bybit is actively encouraging more reports, particularly from bounty hunters who can help decode mixer transactions, as this remains an area where they need additional support.
Arkham Reveals Lazarus Group Holds 13,400 BTC
Previously, a substantial amount of the stolen ETH was converted into Bitcoin, mainly via the cross-chain liquidity protocol THORChain.
On February 21st, Bybit suffered a security breach, which became the largest hack ever reported on a centralized exchange. The attack is believed to have been carried out through a targeted malware exploit attributed to the Lazarus Group, a hacker collective linked to North Korea. This breach led to the theft of over $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum.
Data from Arkham reveals that the Lazarus Group currently holds 13,400 BTC, the majority of which was obtained through the Bybit hack.
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About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
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Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
