1 month ago
7
The North Korean hackers behind the Bybit attack have reportedly laundered nearly 70% of the stolen 499,000 ETH. The stolen crypto is worth around $1.5 billion. At the current pace, they could finish laundering the funds in the next three days.
On March 1, the hackers moved another 62,200 ETH, worth approximately $138 million. This reduced the remaining unlaundered amount to 156,500 ETH. Crypto investigator EmberCN, who has been tracking the transfers, said the rapid pace suggests the process will end soon.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs described the hackers’ methods as highly efficient. They use a mix of intermediary wallets, decentralized exchanges, and cross-chain bridges to hide the movement of funds. These methods make it harder for authorities to trace and recover the stolen crypto.
The FBI recently linked the attack to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor. In response, Bybit launched a $140 million bounty program to recover the funds. So far, $4.2 million has been awarded to 16 contributors.
Meanwhile, Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, is facing backlash for its slow response. Crypto detective ZachXBT criticized Circle for taking over 24 hours to blacklist hacker wallets. He argued that the delay gave hackers enough time to move the funds.
Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, defended the company, saying they only act on official requests from authorities. However, security experts argue that faster action could prevent stolen funds from becoming untraceable.
English (US) · 