Greece seizes cryptocurrency for the first time, traces Bybit hack worth 1.4 billion USD

For the first time in history, the Greek authorities successfully seized cryptocurrency assets related to the Bybit exchange hack worth 1.4 billion USD, believed to be carried out by #LazarusGroup from North Korea.

Details of the seizure and damages

The incident originated from a suspicious transaction detected by the Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority. Thanks to the Chainalysis Reactor tool, investigators traced the funds from the suspect's wallet to wallets associated with the Bybit hack. Greek Minister of Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, confirmed that this wallet was linked to a cryptocurrency exchange platform in Greece, allowing authorities to timely freeze the assets.

According to data from Bybit, so far 72 million USD (5.18% of $ETH stolen) has been frozen, 459 million USD (1/3 of the assets) can still be traced, but about 869 million USD (62.04%) has disappeared from the chain. Mr. Pierrakakis stated that Greece has recovered approximately 10 million euros (~11.7 million USD) to reimburse the victims.

The threat from Lazarus Group

Lazarus Group is known for its sophisticated money laundering capabilities, using mixing platforms, cross-chain bridges, P2P protocols, and transferring the majority of assets to $BTC to erase traces. This group is suspected of exploiting vulnerabilities in Bybit's multi-sig mechanism.

The case has been referred to the Greek prosecution, marking a significant step in establishing legal precedent for handling cryptocurrency crime in Europe, while also demonstrating the positive coordination among European countries in the global campaign against Lazarus. #greece