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Bybit’s $1.46 Billion Hack: Recovery Efforts Commence as North Korean Money Laundering Scheme Unfolds
In a shocking turn of events, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced that it will offer a 10% bounty (up to $140 million) in an attempt to recover stolen funds after a massive security breach. The incident, which has been attributed to the notorious Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking syndicate, has led to a staggering withdrawal of approximately 23,000 BTC from Bybit’s hot wallet.
The hack, which was reportedly discovered on Friday afternoon, has resulted in a Bitcoin balance reduction from 70,000 BTC to just over 52,000 BTC. This dramatic drop represents an outflow of roughly $1.7 billion since the incident occurred. Furthermore, data suggests that users have withdrawn a total of $6 billion across various cryptocurrencies.
In response to the breach, Bybit has taken steps to strengthen its security measures, collaborating with Pump.fun and Solana Foundation President Lily Lui to remove a Solana-based token linked to hacker groups. The exchange has also warned users about scammers impersonating Bybit officials, emphasizing that it will never request personal information, deposits, or passwords directly from users.
As the crypto community rallies around the affected party, on-chain data suggests that the Lazarus Group may be using fake KYC data to deposit funds on exchanges. In a move aimed at mitigating the impact of this incident, Bybit has implemented additional security protocols, including the freezing of assets in response to suspicious activity.
The community is currently discussing the possibility of a blockchain rollback to hinder the attackers’ efforts, although no formal proposals have been made public.
