Lazarus Group Moves Bybit’s Stolen $1.4B Through BTC Mixers

• Lazarus laundered $1.4B from Bybit via BTC mixers, hiding 7.59%.
• Bybit traced 88.87% of funds, with 12,836 BTC spread across wallets.
• Bybit offers 10% rewards, paying $2.2M to hackers for fund recovery.

The Lazarus Group has reportedly moved the stolen $1.4 billion from the Bybit hack through various Bitcoin (BTC) mixers. Blockchain investigators found that the funds, originally in Ether (ETH) and liquid-staked assets, were converted into BTC before being processed through privacy-focused platforms such as Wasabi, CryptoMixer, Railgun, and Tornado Cash.

According to Bybit CEO Ben Zhou, 88.87% of the stolen funds remain traceable, while 7.59% have become untraceable, and 3.54% have been frozen. Of the total 500,000 ETH stolen, 86.29% (440,091 ETH), valued at approximately $1.23 billion, was converted into 12,836 BTC and distributed across 9,117 wallets. Notably, 193 BTC were transferred to Wasabi Mixer, with subsequent transactions directed toward peer-to-peer vendors.

Security Firms Link Attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group

Blockchain security firm Arkham Intelligence has linked the Bybit exploit to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus. The attackers reportedly used a sophisticated laundering method using decentralized cross-chain protocols such as THORChain. Reports indicate that within 10 days all stolen funds were processed through THORChain to obscure their origins.

Despite these laundering attempts a significant portion of the stolen funds remains traceable with Bybit and security experts continuing efforts to track and freeze illicit transactions. The incident underscores the growing challenge of monitoring blockchain-based financial crimes, particularly when mixers and decentralized platforms are involved.

Bybit Expands Bounty Program to Combat Illicit Crypto Activity

Bybit has intensified its bounty program to incentivize blockchain investigators and ethical hackers to trace stolen funds. The exchange received 5,012 bounty reports in the past 30 days, of which 63 were deemed valid. So far, Bybit has paid out $2.2 million to 12 bounty hunters for actionable intelligence related to fund recovery.

Additionally, Bybit has offered 10% of recovered funds as a reward for white-hat hackers who help trace and freeze stolen assets. The initiative highlights the industry’s ongoing efforts to mitigate financial crimes and enhance security across digital asset platforms.