1-3-2025 – Fresh intelligence reveals the culprit behind the massive Bybit cryptocurrency heist has commenced laundering operations, moving more than half the purloined digital assets through THORChain’s cross-chain protocol.
According to Lookonchain analysis, the perpetrator has channelled 270,000 Ethereum tokens—worth approximately $605 million—through the platform, representing 54% of the estimated 400,000 ETH originally pilfered. The malefactor continues to hold a further 229,395 ETH tokens, valued at roughly $514 million.
The reverberations from this unprecedented security breach have triggered significant disruption across cryptocurrency markets, with particular volatility observed in Ethereum and THORChain’s native RUNE token trading patterns.
The laundering activities have precipitated a governance crisis within THORChain’s development community. A prominent developer using the pseudonym “Pluto” publicly announced an immediate cessation of contributions following a contentious reversal of a vote that would have blocked transactions linked to North Korean hacking collectives. This resignation has been followed by threats from at least one validator to similarly withdraw support, exacerbating internal tensions.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reports that the misappropriated cryptocurrency assets “have mainly been swapped for native BTC,” with transactions executed via THORChain from wallets tagged as associated with the notorious Lazarus Group.
The fallout from last Friday’s breach—which saw approximately $1.5 billion in assets siphoned from Bybit’s Ethereum cold storage—continues to ripple through trading markets. Ethereum was trading at $2,123 at publication, reflecting a precipitous 9.8% decline over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Concurrently, RUNE has experienced unusual price action, reaching peaks above $1.60 following the hack before settling at $1.33. Trading volumes have surged dramatically, with Ethereum reaching $28 billion on February 28, whilst RUNE volumes jumped to $1.2 billion—a significant increase from the previous day’s $800 million figure.
Trading pairs exhibited notable shifts as well, with ETH/BTC combinations registering modest volume increases to $4.5 billion, whilst ETH/USDT pairings witnessed a substantial leap to $12 billion in total trading activity.
Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”), characterised the heist as a “stark reminder of the industry’s fundamental issues”
