Bybit hacker launders $335M as funds continue to move

The hacker behind the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit has laundered more than $335 million in digital assets, with investigators continuing to track the movement of stolen funds.

Crypto investor sentiment was hit by the largest hack in crypto history on Feb. 21, when Bybit lost over $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether (stETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH) and other digital assets.

Onchain data shows that the hacker has moved 45,900 Ether (ETH) — worth about $113 million — in the past 24 hours, bringing the total amount laundered to more than 135,000 ETH, valued at $335 million.

That leaves the hacker with about 363,900 ETH, worth around $900 million, according to pseudonymous blockchain analyst EmberCN.

“There are still 363,900 ETH ($900 million) in the Bybit hacker address. At the current rate, it will only take another 8 to 10 days to clean it up.”

Blockchain security firms, including Arkham Intelligence, have identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the likely culprit behind the Bybit exploit.

On Feb. 25, four days after the exploit, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou declared “war” on the Lazarus Group.

Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has flagged 11,084 cryptocurrency wallet addresses suspected of being linked to the Bybit exploit. That list is expected to grow as investigations continue.

Related: Bitcoin tumbles under $90K amid ETF sell-off, mounting liquidations

Bybit’s response could restore trust in centralized exchanges

Despite the scale of the attack, Bybit’s response may help rebuild trust in centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs), according to industry figures.

Dan Hughes, founder of the decentralized finance platform Radix, said Bybit’s immediate response prevented a larger market sell-off:

“Assuming the worst is behind us, the manner in which Bybit handled the situation may actually recover some confidence in CEXs. It would demonstrate that with adults at the wheel, centralized exchanges can be ‘trustworthy’ and responsible custodians of our assets.”

“Primarily, it matters most if Bybit can indeed absorb that loss as claimed. So far, withdrawals have been honored, and all seems good,” Hughes added.

Related: Bybit hackers may be behind Solana memecoin scams — ZachXBT

Bybit has continued to honor customer withdrawals and had fully replaced the stolen $1.4 billion in Ether by Feb. 24, just three days after the attack.

Still, the Bybit hack alone accounts for more than half of the $2.3 billion stolen in crypto-related hacks in 2024, marking a significant setback for the industry.

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