The Largest Ever Bitcoin Hack Uncovered: $14.5 Billion Stolen

Blockchain de-anonymizer firm Arkham has made a shocking discovery that appears to be the largest Bitcoin hack in history. According to its analysis, 127,426 BTC was stolen from Chinese mining firm LuBian in December 2020, which is now worth approximately $14.5 billion.

The Hack: A Timeline

LuBian was one of the world's largest mining pools in 2020, controlling almost 6% of the Bitcoin network's total hash-rate as of May 2020. The hackers targeted LuBian on December 28th, 2020, for over 90% of their BTC. On December 29th, around $6 million of additional BTC and USDT was stolen from a LuBian address active on the Bitcoin Omni layer. Finally, on December 31st, LuBian rotated their remaining funds to recovery wallets.

The Whitehat Opportunity

Arkham discovered on-chain messages between LuBian and the hackers' wallet addresses offering a reward if they acted as whitehats – hackers that take a payment in exchange for discovering security weaknesses and returning the stolen funds. According to Arkham, LuBian had used an algorithm to generate its private keys for custody of its coins, which may have been vulnerable to brute force exploits.

The Stolen Amount: $14.5 Billion

At the time of the hack, 127,426 BTC was worth approximately $3.5 billion. However, due to Bitcoin's volatility and market fluctuations, the value of the stolen coins has increased exponentially over the years. Today, the same amount of BTC is worth around $14.5 billion.

The Hackers' Motivation

It appears that the hackers were motivated by a desire to sell the stolen funds on the open market. However, Arkham suggests that LuBian's use of an algorithm to generate its private keys may have been vulnerable to brute force exploits, which could provide valuable information for future hackers.

The Current Status

As of July 2024, the hacker still holds the coins, and their current location is unknown. Arkham warns that the stolen funds are likely to be sold on the open market, further exacerbating the problem of Bitcoin's volatility and security risks.

A Call to Action

LuBian has never publicly acknowledged the hack, but its failure to do so raises questions about the firm's commitment to security and transparency. Arkham's discovery highlights the need for greater vigilance and cooperation between blockchain firms, governments, and law enforcement agencies to combat Bitcoin hacking and related crimes.