Bybit CEO Ben Zhou recently revealed that a significant portion of the cryptocurrency stolen in a massive hack earlier this year has vanished. The February hack, which saw nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum (ETH) and Lido Staked Ether (stETH) stolen, remains the largest crypto heist in history.
The State of the Stolen Funds
Zhou reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the situation is as follows:
- 68.57% of the stolen funds are still traceable.
- 3.84% have been frozen.
- 27%+ has “gone dark,” meaning it’s untraceable.
How the Hackers Concealed the Funds
The hackers, believed to be the North Korean Lazarus Group, employed sophisticated techniques to obscure the stolen funds’ origins. They used crypto mixers and bridges to launder the money, moving it through various services including:
- Wasabi
- CryptoMixer
- Tornado Cash
- Railgun
- Thorchain
- eXch
- Lombard
- LiFi
- Stargate
- SunSwap
The stolen crypto eventually ended up in over-the-counter (OTC) or peer-to-peer (P2P) fiat currency exchanges. It’s worth noting that one of the exchanges mentioned, eXch, is slated to close in May amid money laundering accusations.
The Ongoing Investigation
The situation highlights the challenges in tracking cryptocurrency after it’s been processed through these anonymity tools. While a large portion of the stolen funds remains traceable, the significant amount that has “gone dark” represents a major setback for investigators.