Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed a stark update on the crypto exchange’s record-breaking $1.4 billion theft: 20% of the stolen funds—roughly $280 million—have “gone dark,” slipping beyond immediate traceability as hackers convert the haul to Bitcoin (BTC). Speaking via X late Monday, Zhou detailed that of the 499,395 Ethereum (ETH) pilfered on February 21, 77% ($1.07 billion) remains trackable, 3% ($42 million) has been frozen, and the rest has vanished into untraceable channels. The disclosure, paired with news that 83% of the loot—$1 billion—has already swapped to BTC across 6,954 wallets, underscores a high-stakes race to freeze assets before they melt into the blockchain ether.
The heist, pegged as crypto’s largest ever, struck Bybit’s Ethereum cold wallet—a supposedly secure offline vault—during a routine transfer to a warm wallet. Zhou described a “sophisticated attack” that masked the signing interface, tricking the system into approving a drain of 401,346 ETH, then valued at $1.4 billion, though estimates range up to $1.5 billion with market flux. Blockchain sleuths Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence swiftly linked the theft to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, notorious for siphoning over $6 billion since 2017, including the $611 million Poly Network hit in 2021.
Bybit’s fighting back. Eleven bounty hunters have pocketed $2.1 million for freezing $42 million, and Web3 security firm ZeroShadow joined the hunt on February 25, tasked with tracing and locking down funds. Zhou’s “gone dark” label—20% or $280 million—points to mixing or laundering via platforms like eXch, which Elliptic accuses of aiding North Korea despite denials. THORChain’s role sparked internal strife—key member TCB quit Friday, decrying its “permissionless” ethos as a national security risk when 72% of the hack’s ETH-BTC swaps flowed through, per DeFi data. Chainflip, another cross-chain DEX, halted swaps after detecting Bybit funds, rolling out anti-hack upgrades.
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