Bybit CEO reveals new details about stolen funds
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirms 88.87% of stolen $1.4B remains traceable.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou detailed on X that despite the sophisticated laundering tactics employed by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, 88.87% of the $1.4 billion stolen from the exchange remains traceable.
According to Zhou’s breakdown, the attackers converted 500,000 ETH into 12,836 BTC, which are now spread across 9,117 wallets.
Notably, 3.54% of these funds have been frozen, while 7.59% have vanished into the dark web. The remaining assets, though still within reach, are obscured by mixers—such as Wasabi Mixer—which the hackers used to mask their movements.
Challenges in Tracking and Security Oversights
Zhou emphasized the increasing challenge of tracking mixed transactions, calling on more bounty hunters to assist in deobfuscating the trail. He noted that over the past 30 days, 5,012 bounty reports were submitted, yet only 63 proved valid. In a candid admission, Zhou revealed that warnings about security flaws in the compromised “Safe” software had been raised months before the attack.
“We should have upgraded and moved away from Safe,” he said, hinting at systemic lapses that allowed the hackers to infiltrate a developer’s computer and plant malicious code, leading to the fraudulent transaction that ultimately drained $1.5 billion.
Implications and Future Vigilance
The hack has elevated North Korea to third among governments holding Bitcoin, with 13,562 BTC valued at over $1.14 billion, trailing only the U.S. and the U.K. This revelation has intensified speculation about Pyongyang’s long-term crypto strategy, especially following President Trump’s recent executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Despite the immediate fallout, Zhou’s swift response—rushing to Bybit’s Singapore office and triggering an emergency response protocol—demonstrates the firm’s commitment to addressing vulnerabilities and strengthening security measures. Moving forward, industry observers and regulators will likely call for tighter cybersecurity standards and enhanced oversight as crypto thefts continue to evolve in scale and sophistication.
Recently we wrote, that the cryptocurrency industry suffered staggering losses of $1.53 billion in February, marking a nearly 1,500% increase from the $98 million reported in January, as reported by the blockchain security firm CertiK.
