Arkham Uncovers $3.5B Bitcoin Heist — Was It Hidden?
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has revealed a staggering Bitcoin heist from December 2020:
127,426 $BTC stolen from Chinese mining pool LuBian, worth about $3.5 billion at the time.
The funds were quietly drained and went undisclosed for nearly five years.
What’s unique:
More than 90% of LuBian’s $BTC reserve vanished in a single exploit on Dec 28, 2020.
Hackers also drained an additional $6 million in BTC and USDT days later.
A weak private key generation method left the pool vulnerable to brute‑force attacks.
LuBian attempted recovery:
Operators sent over 1,500 OP_RETURN messages on-chain—spending ~1.4 BTC—to appeal directly to the attacker and request return of funds.
Stolen $BTC Status:
The assets remain largely dormant, last significantly moved in July 2024.
At today’s value, the stolen BTC is worth roughly $14.5 billion—making it the largest documented crypto theft to date.
⚠️ Why This Matters:
This eclipse’s ByBit’s earlier $1.5B hack and the infamous Mt. Gox seizure.
Highlights the critical importance of secure key generation and real-time on-chain monitoring.
Underlines that even major operations can be exposed by technical vulnerabilities long after the fact.
🧭 What to Watch:
👉Are the stolen funds ever moved or laundered?
👉Will operating teams go public or pursue recovery?
👉Does this case prompt stricter standards for mining pool security and transparency?
Arkham’s excavation of the LuBian heist is a serious wake-up call for the crypto ecosystem.
What’s your take can the industry close these gaps before more damage is done?
