A hacker responsible for compromising $1.4 billion from Bybit has successfully laundered 100,000 ETH, approximately $250 million, in less than four days. The attacker has moved 20% of the stolen 499,000 ETH, strategically splitting the funds into smaller amounts across multiple addresses while using THORChain for cross-chain swaps into BTC, DAI, and other assets.
According to Spot On Chain,Despite laundering a significant portion of the stolen funds, the hacker still controls 399,000 ETH, valued at around $995 million. This makes the hacker one of the largest individual holders of Ethereum, surpassing the holdings of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and even the Ethereum Foundation. The scale of this breach highlights the security challenges facing centralized exchanges and the sophistication of modern-day crypto thieves.
The hacker is actively moving large amounts of ETH, with transactions of 10,000 ETH per address currently being observed. Additionally, on-chain data reveals that at least $200 million in USDT was transferred from Bybit’s cold wallet to its hot wallet within 30 minutes. It remains unclear whether these transfers are intended for user withdrawals or if they are part of an ETH buyback strategy.
ETH Price, Bybit Stability, Security Concerns
News of the hack initially triggered a 3% dip in Ethereum’s price. However, the market quickly recovered, showing resilience despite the significant loss. The rapid laundering of funds through cross-chain swaps also demonstrates the increasing utility of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols for cybercriminals seeking to obfuscate illicit transactions.
Despite the magnitude of the hack, on-chain data suggests that the $1.4 billion loss represents only 8.64% of Bybit’s total reserves, which amount to $16.2 billion. This indicates that the exchange is financially capable of covering the loss. User withdrawals are still operational, although there has been a noticeable surge in demand, likely fueled by fears of insolvency.
The Bybit hack serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities centralized exchanges face, even those with significant reserves. It also underscores the challenges of tracking and recovering stolen crypto assets due to the anonymity and fluidity offered by DeFi platforms. As investigations continue, the industry will closely watch how Bybit manages the fallout and whether it will impact user confidence in centralized crypto exchanges.
