Bybit CEO Updates on $1.4 Billion Hack by North Korea's Lazarus Group: 68.57% of 500k ETH Traceable

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has provided an update on the $1.4 billion hack attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, revealing that 68.57% of the stolen funds, totaling around 500,000 ETH, remain traceable, while 27.59% have gone dark and 3.84% have been frozen. The untraceable portion of the funds has been moved through mixers, including Wasabi mixer, and then through bridges to peer-to-peer (P2P) and over-the-counter (OTC) platforms.

Zhou detailed that the hackers used various mixers to launder the funds. A significant amount of the stolen Ethereum, approximately 432,748 ETH, was converted into Bitcoin using Thorchain, with 67.25% distributed across over 35,000 wallets. Additionally, 5,991 ETH, valued at about $16.77 million, remains on the Ethereum blockchain, spread across 12,490 wallets with an average of 0.48 ETH each. On the Bitcoin side, 944 BTC, worth $90.6 million, was funneled through Wasabi Mixer alone, and 531 BTC, equivalent to around 18,206 ETH or 3.57% of the stolen assets, was bridged back to Ethereum via Thorchain.

Bybit has launched a Lazarus Bounty program to encourage community assistance in tracking the stolen assets, receiving 5,443 reports in the past two months, with 70 validated as legitimate tips. Zhou emphasized the need for more help in decoding mixer transactions to recover the remaining funds. He also noted that the stolen ETH was being laundered through multiple layers, and warned that mixer activity would likely intensify as more funds attempt to exit the blockchain. Meanwhile, eXch, a privacy-focused crypto exchange, announced its closure on May 1 following allegations of facilitating laundering efforts by the Lazarus Group, admitting to processing a minor part of the stolen Ethereum.

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