In a fresh update on stolen crypto funds, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has revealed that hackers have managed to launder at least 27% of $1.4 billion worth of stolen digital assets, mostly Ethereum, in a recent hack against the exchange, but the majority of those funds are still traceable.
Zhou revealed in a social media post that the total theft was approximately 500,000 ETH. Out of that, around 68.57% is still traceable, 27.59% has gone dark, and just 3.84% has been frozen so far.
How the funds were moved
The stolen assets have been carefully laundered through multiple layers to avoid detection. A large portion first passed through privacy mixers, with Wasabi being the main one used, before heading through bridges and swap platforms.
After going through Wasabi, some of the funds trickled into other mixers like CryptoMixer, Tornado Cash, and Railgun. Then came a series of cross-chain transactions using platforms such as Thorchain, eXch, Lombard, LiFi, Stargate, and SunSwap.
Eventually, the laundered crypto made its way to OTC (over-the-counter) and P2P (peer-to-peer) exchanges to be converted into fiat money.
ETH to BTC conversion
A massive portion of the stolen ETH has already been swapped for Bitcoin.
Out of the total, around 432,748 ETH — roughly $1.21 billion — was moved off the Ethereum network, mostly via Thorchain. About 342,975 ETH (worth nearly $960 million) was converted into 10,003 BTC and split up across more than 35,000 wallets. Each wallet received an average of 0.28 BTC.
Meanwhile, only 5,991 ETH, worth about $16.8 million, remains on Ethereum across 12,490 wallets.
Once converted, some of the stolen BTC also went through Wasabi Mixer. About 944 BTC, or $90.6 million worth, was mixed through Wasabi. Interestingly, a small portion of the BTC — around 531 coins, equivalent to 18,206 ETH, was sent back to Ethereum, again via Thorchain.
Lazarus Bounty: Join the hunt
To encourage more people to help track and freeze stolen crypto, the LazarusBounty.com platform has launched a bounty pool worth $140 million. So far, just over $2.3 million has been awarded.
In the last 60 days, over 5,400 bounty reports were submitted — but only 70 were found to be valid. Currently, only 12 bounty hunters are actively working on these reports.
The bounty program works on a 10% model. If funds are recovered and frozen, 5% goes to whoever managed to freeze the assets, and another 5% goes to the people who traced the funds leading to that freeze.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the current status:
- $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
Zhou ended the update with a clear call for help, urging more cyber investigators and blockchain experts to join the hunt.
The fight isn’t over, and with hundreds of millions still traceable, the crypto community has a real shot at getting a big chunk of the stolen money back.
Also Read: Rise and Fall of WazirX: Mapping India’s Biggest Crypto Hack
