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Bybit Exchange Reports $1.4 Billion Cryptocurrency Theft and Laundering Operation
The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has confirmed that hackers stole a staggering $1.4 billion worth of digital assets in February 2025, with North Korea’s Lazarus Group reportedly orchestrating the attack.
According to reports, the cybercriminals managed to launder the entire amount within just 10 days. The exchange has confirmed that approximately 499,000 Ethereum tokens were stolen and transferred to Bitcoin. The hackers converted a massive 83% of the stolen funds into Bitcoin, distributing these assets across an astonishing 6,954 different cryptocurrency wallets.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that 77% of the stolen funds remain traceable, while a significant 20% have become “gone dark,” making it challenging to recover. Unfortunately, 3% of the assets were frozen by investigators.
The primary platform used for laundering was THORChain, which processed $605 million in transactions during a single 24-hour period, earning $5.5 billion in fees from these transactions. This large-scale operation highlights the growing concern of cryptocurrency theft and money laundering in the digital asset space.
Bybit has taken swift action by launching Lazarusbounty.com, a platform dedicated to tracking the stolen funds and offering rewards to exchanges that help recover the assets. The exchange has already paid out $2.17 million in bounties to 11 different individuals or groups who contributed to the recovery effort.
In addition, Bybit hired blockchain security firm ZeroShadow for forensic analysis on February 25, which specializes in tracing and freezing stolen assets. Mr. Zhou emphasized that investigators could potentially recover a significant $65 million in Ethereum with support from the OKX Wallet team, but time is of the essence as the next two weeks are crucial for freezing additional funds before potential cashouts.
The article highlights the importance of collaboration between exchanges to combat cryptocurrency theft and money laundering.
