So, here's a wild ride for you! The Bybit heist saga continues to boggle minds, and it's nothing short of a Hollywood thriller. Bybit's head honcho, Ben Zhou, dropped some eyebrow-raising numbers, revealing that a whopping 83% of the pilfered loot was morphed into Bitcoin and scattered like confetti across a mind-numbing 7,000 wallets. Meanwhile, 20% of the stash seems to have vanished into thin air, while a brave 3% has been frozen in its tracks.
Picture this: the mastermind behind the jaw-dropping $1.39 billion Bybit exploit managed to pull off a crypto magic trick, laundering all 499,000 ETH in just a blink-of-an-eye ten days. Even with blockchain detectives, law enforcement, and crypto exchanges hot on their trail, the crafty hacker used decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols like a pro magician to clean the dough.
EmberCN, the on-chain analytics sleuths, sprang into action quicker than you can say “crypto,” and by February 25, they reported that the hacker had already laundered a staggering 89,000 ETH, worth a cool $224 million, in under 60 hours.
The plot thickened as the hacker washed another 45,900 ETH, roughly $113 million, the very next day. By February 27, the ETH laundering spree continued with a swap of 71,000 ETH, valued at around $170 million. With a relentless pace, the crypto cat burglar had converted 206,000 ETH into other digital assets, averaging 45,000 ETH per day. But wait, there was still a massive 292,000 ETH, worth a jaw-dropping $685 million, left to clean.
By February 28, EmberCN reported that the hacker had added another 59,800 ETH to their laundry list, bringing the total to 266,000 ETH, with 233,000 still in need of a wash. Interestingly, on March 1, the exploiter took a breather, only managing to scrub a modest 14,300 ETH, worth $32.2 million. But no rest for the wicked! They were back at it the next day, converting 62,200 ETH, and by March 4, the hacker had laundered every last coin.
Ben Zhou offers his own spin on the tale, revealing that the hacker used THORChain as their main laundering playground, swapping over 361,000 ETH, valued at a staggering $900 million, via the cross-chain liquidity protocol. The plot twist? The FBI links this crypto Houdini to North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group, adding an international espionage flair to the mix.
So, there you have it, a real-life crypto caper that'll leave you on the edge of your seat. As the crypto world watches with bated breath, we can only wonder what twists and turns this saga will take next. Stay tuned!
