68% of Stolen Crypto Funds Are Still Traceable, CEO Claims. What’s Left to Find?

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Oh, the drama! In a delightfully suspenseful update on the latest heist of the digital age, Bybit’s CEO, Ben Zhou, has spilled the beans: hackers have made off with a jaw-dropping $1.4 billion in crypto, mostly Ethereum, but don’t pop that champagne just yet – the money isn’t as elusive as it might seem. Apparently, 68% of it is still traceable, like a well-placed breadcrumb trail leading right to the door of the culprits. A bit underwhelming for a billion-dollar heist, right?

On social media, Zhou detailed the grim tale of how about 500,000 ETH were snatched from Bybit’s vaults. What’s shocking (or maybe not, depending on how much faith you have in the blockchain) is that nearly 70% of these stolen funds are still following a rather predictable path. Meanwhile, 27.59% of the funds have gone completely dark (cue the spooky music), and only a mere 3.84% has been frozen. So much for a clean getaway.

Total hacked funds of USD 1.4bn around 500k ETH. 68.57% remain traceable, 27.59% have gone dark, 3.84% have been frozen. The untraceable funds primarily flowed into mixers then through bridges to P2P and OTC platforms.

Recently, we have…

— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) April 21, 2025

How the Funds Were Moved: A Digital Dance of Deception

These stolen treasures didn’t just vanish into the digital ether. Oh no, they were carefully washed, scrubbed, and paraded through a maze of privacy mixers. The star of this laundering spectacle? Wasabi, of course, with an assist from a cast of mixers like CryptoMixer, Tornado Cash, and Railgun. Think of it as the crypto version of “Whack-A-Mole.” If you can’t see it, it’s probably hidden in the next mixer.

From there, the crypto funds waltzed across various bridges and swap platforms, taking a scenic route through Thorchain, eXch, Lombard, LiFi, Stargate, and SunSwap—quite the cross-chain world tour, wouldn’t you say?

Eventually, these funds reached the shady, dimly-lit corners of OTC and P2P exchanges, where the stolen digital gems could be converted into good old-fashioned fiat currency. Ah, the sweet smell of liquidity!

ETH to BTC Conversion: The Great Switcheroo

And then there was the great crypto conversion. A colossal chunk of the stolen Ethereum (roughly 432,748 ETH, worth around $1.21 billion) made its escape from the Ethereum network. It found itself mingling in Bitcoin’s crowd via Thorchain, and in a not-so-shocking twist, 342,975 ETH (close to $960 million) was swapped for 10,003 BTC. And in a masterstroke of strategic dispersion, these 10,003 BTC were split up across over 35,000 wallets—each with an average of 0.28 BTC. Because why not scatter the loot like breadcrumbs leading us nowhere?

Now, if you’re wondering where the rest of the ETH went, don’t worry. Around 5,991 ETH, valued at $16.8 million, is still lounging comfortably on the Ethereum network, scattered across 12,490 wallets, just waiting to be discovered. It’s like the hacker’s version of a rainy day fund.

Some of that freshly converted BTC, however, took a detour back through Wasabi Mixer. About 944 BTC (worth $90.6 million) got mixed, as if it was just going for a light cleanse. A teeny-weeny portion—531 coins, about 18,206 ETH—was even sent back to Ethereum via Thorchain. Clearly, it’s a long game.

Lazarus Bounty: The Hunt is On

But fear not! To spice up this whole situation, LazarusBounty.com has stepped in with a $140 million bounty pool, offering a rather tempting reward for anyone who can track and freeze the stolen funds. So far, only $2.3 million has been claimed. With over 5,400 reports submitted in the past 60 days, only a mere 70 were deemed worthy of attention. Talk about a competitive job market!

The bounty system is refreshingly straightforward: 10% of whatever funds are recovered is split in two—half for the person who froze the assets, and half for the detective who found the funds. A fun way to turn crypto crime into a treasure hunt, don’t you think?

Here’s the current state of the chase:

  • $1.24 billion (89.36%) is still being tracked
  • $94.8 million (6.8%) is awaiting confirmation or response
  • $53.6 million (3.84%) has been successfully frozen

So, as Zhou urged, it’s time to rally the blockchain sleuths and crypto experts. The game’s not over, and hundreds of millions are still up for grabs. Could the crypto community actually recover the stolen funds? Let’s hope so, but it’s not looking like an easy win.

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2025-04-21 08:56