The individual responsible for the $1.4 billion Ethereum exploit on Bybit has successfully laundered over half of the stolen funds, primarily utilizing THORChain to convert ETH into Bitcoin.
This laundering operation has triggered an unprecedented surge in THORChain activity. Daily transaction volumes have skyrocketed from an average of $80 million to $580 million since February 22nd.
Over five days, the total transaction volume on THORChain reached $2.91 billion, generating $3 million in fees. February 26th witnessed a record-breaking $859.61 million in swaps, followed by $210 million on the 27th, pushing the two-day total above $1 billion.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has attributed the Bybit hack, codenamed “TraderTraitor,” to North Korean state-sponsored hackers, linking it to a broader pattern of cyberattacks.
Independent forensic investigations by Sygnia Labs and Verichain have determined that Bybit’s core security infrastructure was not compromised.
The breach originated from a compromised developer machine associated with Safe Wallet, which allowed the attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into the Gnosis Safe UI, targeting Bybit’s cold wallet. Safe has confirmed the security of its smart contracts, emphasizing that the vulnerability lies with a compromised infrastructure provider.
Bybit has launched a dedicated website to monitor the movement of the stolen funds and is offering a bounty to exchanges that assist in their recovery.
Image Credit: Pixabay
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