Bybit CEO: $1B in Stolen Crypto Still Traceable, Critical Window for Freezing Funds
Over 77% of the crypto stolen in Bybit’s historic $1.4 billion hack remains traceable on-chain, while about 20% has already been successfully laundered, CEO Ben Zhou stated in an X update on Tuesday.
“This week is crucial for freezing the stolen funds before they are fully laundered through exchanges, OTC desks, and P2P platforms,” Zhou warned, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Blockchain data shows that 417,348 ETH ($1 billion) is still visible despite hackers routing it through privacy-focused THORChain. However, around 79,655 ETH ($200 million) has already disappeared through ExCH, making further tracking nearly impossible.
Additionally, 40,233 ETH ($100 million) flowed through OKX’s Web3 proxy, with 23,553 ETH ($65 million) now completely untraceable.
Zhou also revealed that 83% of the stolen ETH—approximately 361,255 ETH (~$900 million)—was swapped for Bitcoin and spread across 6,954 wallets, with each wallet holding an average of 1.71 BTC.
According to DefiLlama, THORChain processed a record $4.66 billion in swaps in the week ending March 2, generating more than $5.5 million in fees, some of which are suspected to be linked to the Bybit exploit.
The hack, attributed to North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group, was executed via an exploit in SafeWallet, a third-party service used by Bybit. The attackers compromised a developer’s device, enabling them to manipulate a routine transfer and siphon nearly $1.5 billion in ETH.
Despite the breach, Bybit has restored full 1:1 backing of customer assets. On-chain data suggests the exchange repurchased over $400 million in crypto via OTC trades, while another $300 million was sourced directly from exchanges to maintain liquidity.
