Recently, it has come to light that the Chinese mining pool LuBian fell victim to a $3.5 billion Bitcoin heist. A detailed investigation revealed a mass drainage of the pool’s reserves due to hacking.
Discovery of the Heist
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence reported that 127,426 BTC were drained from LuBian’s reserves in a significant attack in December 2020. LuBian became one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools in April 2020 and shut down unexpectedly in February 2021 with no explanations.
Key Vulnerability
According to Arkham, LuBian may have used a flawed algorithm for generating private keys, leaving its wallets open to brute-force attacks. This vulnerability likely allowed the hackers to execute the breach without being detected.
LuBian's Response to the Theft
After the incident, LuBian attempted to contact the hacker via OP_RETURN on Bitcoin. Their messages referred to the hacker as a 'white hat' and proposed negotiations for the recovery of the stolen assets in exchange for a reward. However, it is unknown if a response was ever received.
The incident with LuBian highlights the urgency of key management and security discussions in cryptocurrency mining operations, emphasizing the need to protect crypto infrastructure.
