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Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced that 88% of the $1.4 billion in stolen crypto remains traceable. Despite ongoing efforts by hackers to obscure their tracks using Bitcoin mixers, Zhou confirmed that most of the stolen funds are still under surveillance.
In his March 20 update, Zhou detailed that 86.29% of the stolen assets, approximately $1.23 billion, have been converted into 12,836 Bitcoin. These funds are now distributed across 9,117 wallets, with each wallet holding an average of 1.41 BTC.
The funds were initially stolen in Ethereum (ETH) before being converted into Bitcoin, primarily through THORChain. The cross-chain liquidity provider faced criticism for refusing to collaborate in blocking the hackers’ transactions. A THORChain core contributor even resigned over the platform’s decision.
Zhou noted that hackers are increasingly using mixers to hide the origin of their stolen Bitcoin. After passing through mixers, the funds are dispersed using peer-to-peer vendors, making further tracking difficult. Currently, 7.59% of the stolen funds are untraceable, while only 3.54% have been frozen.
Despite the challenges, coordinated action from major industry players has led to some success in freezing stolen assets. Companies like Tether, THORChain, ChangeNOW, FixedFloat, Avalanche, CoinEX, Bitget, and Circle worked together to freeze $42.89 million within a day. Additionally, Binance and Huobi froze accounts linked to the stolen funds using intelligence from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
Zhou emphasized the need for continued support, particularly in deciphering mixer transactions, calling it the “no.1 challenge” faced by Bybit.
Bybit is encouraging community involvement in the recovery effort. Through a dedicated website, the exchange provides live updates on the wallet addresses associated with the stolen funds. Participants who supply information leading to the freezing of funds are eligible for a 5% reward based on the recovered amount.
Out of the 5,012 bounty reports submitted last month, Bybit deemed 63 reports valid. Zhou reiterated the company’s determination to pursue those responsible and recover as much of the stolen funds as possible.