Lazarus Group continues to move funds after Bybit's record crypto hack, leading to significant market fluctuations.
Fund Movements After Bybit Hack
According to onchain analytics firm Lookonchain, the Lazarus Group moved 10,000 ETH, valued at $27 million, to a wallet labeled Bybit Exploiter 54 on February 22 to launder funds. The malicious actors also hold over 489,395 ETH, valued at more than $1.3 billion, and 15,000 Mantle Restaked ETH (cmETH) across 53 additional wallets. Etherscan reveals that the group has been actively moving funds between wallets, with over 83 transactions over the past eight hours. The most recent transaction from the Bybit Exploiter 54 wallet was sent to a wallet ending in 'CE9', containing 66 ETH, valued at $182,831.
Recovery of Stolen Funds
Mudit Gupta, Polygon's Chief Information Security Officer, reported that approximately $43 million in stolen funds have been recovered with help from the Mantle, SEAL, and mETH teams. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino added that the stablecoin issuer froze 181,000 USDt (USDT) connected to the hack.
Bybit's Actions and Community Feedback
Bybit announced a bounty program offering up to 10% of the stolen funds' value (up to $140 million) to those who help retrieve the funds. The exchange received widespread praise from industry executives for its communication after the security incident and for keeping withdrawal requests open for customers during the crisis. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that withdrawal speeds have returned to normal after resolving backlog issues.
Lazarus Group's activities continue to impact the cryptocurrency community, yet the measures taken are helping to mitigate the repercussions and restore trust in Bybit.
