The notorious North Korean hacking group Lazarus has begun laundering 5,000 ETH stolen in the recent hack of the Bybit exchange. Blockchain security experts are investigating the theft.
Unveiling the Hack
Blockchain security specialist ZachXBT reported the movement of the stolen funds via Telegram, and later in an X post which was soon deleted. Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, also confirmed this information in his X account.
Financial Movements on Bybit Platform
The Bybit platform has seen a massive influx of funds in response to the hack. Over the past 12 hours, more than $4 billion has been deposited in various cryptocurrencies, including ETH, USDT, USDC, and CUSD. Most of these funds were transferred from cold wallets to hot wallets, facilitating withdrawals and bridge loans from external liquidity providers.
Response and Follow-ups
Bybit has fully restored its withdrawal system. Ben Zhou stated that all withdrawals have been processed and users can withdraw funds without delays. A full incident report and new security measures are expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, companies like Elliptic, Chainalysis, and Arkham Intelligence are tracking the movement of stolen funds, with Arkham announcing a $36,000 bounty for information on the hackers' identity.
The Bybit hack has become the largest crypto theft in history. The Lazarus group continues to seek ways to launder the stolen funds, but efforts by security companies may hinder their attempts.
