Bybit faced a cyberattack resulting in $1.4 billion being stolen. Part of the funds has been laundered, though a significant portion remains traceable.
Details of the Cyberattack
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has confirmed that $280 million of the $1.4 billion stolen in the February cyberattack has been successfully laundered, making these funds nearly untraceable. However, around $1.07 billion remains trackable, giving investigators a window to recover the remaining funds. A significant 77% of the stolen assets are still being monitored, while 20% have 'gone dark.' The remaining 3% — roughly $42 million — has been frozen by ongoing investigative efforts.
Funds Shifted to Bitcoin
One of the main challenges in the recovery process is the sophisticated laundering techniques used by the attackers. Zhou revealed that the hackers converted about $1 billion of the stolen ETH into Bitcoin. These funds were spread across 6,954 cryptocurrency wallets, making it difficult to track and seize them. The platform THORChain was primarily used for cross-chain swapping to obscure the origins of the funds.
Hunt for Hackers
As part of recovery efforts, Bybit has enlisted the help of both blockchain security firms and independent bounty hunters. Since February 25, the company has been working with the security firm ZeroShadow and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which identified over 11,000 wallets linked to the Bybit hackers. Additionally, Bybit has awarded $2.1 million in total rewards to bounty hunters for assisting in freezing the stolen assets.
Despite the complexity of tactics used, Bybit continues efforts to recover stolen assets and remains optimistic about a partial recovery.
