**Bybit Hackers Launder 45,900 ETH in 24 Hours, Totaling 27% of Stolen Funds**
In a recent update shared on X by the well-known blockchain investigator Yujin, also recognized as EmberCN, it has come to light that the attackers behind the Bybit hack have laundered an impressive 45,900 Ethereum (ETH) over the past day. This amount, valued at approximately $113 million, contributes to a total of 135,000 ETH (around $335 million) that has been laundered, which accounts for 27.05% of the total stolen assets. Yujin pointed out that the hackers still possess a staggering 363,900 ETH, equivalent to about $900 million, in their wallets.
**Estimated Timeframe for Laundering Remaining Funds**
Based on the current pace of fund conversion, Yujin has predicted that it may take between 8 to 10 days for the remaining Ethereum to be laundered. Just yesterday, the estimate suggested that the remaining funds could be laundered within two weeks to a month, but this timeframe has now been shortened to just 10 days.
**The Bybit Hack and Ongoing Laundering Activities**
It’s important to remember that Bybit experienced the largest known theft in history, surpassing the $1 billion that Saddam Hussein allegedly stole from the Iraq Central Bank in 2003. As previously reported, the Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea, managed to siphon off $1.46 billion worth of ERC-20 tokens (498,900 ETH) from Bybit’s cold wallet using malware. Since the incident, the group has been actively laundering the stolen funds through THORChain, converting assets like cmETH and stETH into Ethereum. Additionally, they have utilized the instant crypto exchange eXch for laundering some of the funds. A recent report from Elliptic indicated that $75 million worth of stolen assets was laundered through this platform, despite Bybit’s request to block the transaction being declined by the eXch team.
**Recovery Efforts by mETH Protocol and Tether**
While eXch opted not to intervene, other crypto projects like Tether and mETH Protocol have stepped up to assist in recovering some of the stolen funds. Recently, mETH Protocol announced the recovery of 15,000 cmETH, valued at around $43 million. Furthermore, Tether took action by freezing 181,000 USDT that had been stolen from Bybit’s wallet. With the crypto community working together to reclaim the stolen assets, the Bybit attackers have been exercising caution in their laundering efforts.
