The crypto exchange ByBit, reeling from a $1.46bn theft attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group, has launched a bounty initiative to crowdsource efforts in tracking down missing assets.
**Crypto Community Mobilizes in Search for $1.5bn from Historic Heist**
**Crypto Community Mobilizes in Search for $1.5bn from Historic Heist**
In the aftermath of a record-breaking cryptocurrency theft, ByBit enlists public support to trace and reclaim stolen funds.
ByBit, a popular cryptocurrency trading platform, has turned to the public in a bid to reclaim part of the staggering $1.46bn (£1.1bn) stolen from them, suspected to be the largest theft in crypto history. The notorious Lazarus Group, believed to be linked to North Korean hackers, executed the cyber heist last week, leading ByBit to develop an innovative crowdsourcing strategy to encourage citizen sleuths to help recover the missing cryptocurrencies.
In an appeal posted online, ByBit's CEO, Ben Zhou, encouraged the community to "Join us on war against Lazarus" and introduced a new website dedicated to the effort which outlines a bounty program. This initiative offers 5% of any identified stolen funds to individuals who successfully halt or freeze the criminals' assets and an additional 5% to the companies that comply with such requests. ByBit’s website features a live leaderboard tracking the contributions of successful bounty hunters who have already managed to prompt crypto firms to assist in interrupting the laundering of these stolen assets.
The stolen cryptocurrencies are recorded in public wallets, making it feasible for investigators to monitor transactions as the hackers break up their loot into smaller amounts and attempt to obfuscate their origins through various channels. Tom Robinson from the crypto investigation firm Elliptic has praised the bounty scheme as "a really positive innovation," highlighting the potential it has to galvanize talented blockchain detectives eager to reclaim the stolen funds.
Nonetheless, some experts are cautioning that the incident could further erode trust in the cryptocurrency market, which is already seen as precariously volatile. Louise Abbott, a crypto fraud partner at Keystone Law, remarked that the ability of hackers to execute such a large-scale attack raises significant concerns about security in prominent exchanges.
Due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, prominent regulatory bodies, such as central banks, do not intervene in digital currency transactions. This reality has left ByBit depending on the goodwill of other cryptocurrency companies to aid in their recovery efforts—something not all firms have been willing to do. Critics have pointed out that certain exchanges, like eXch, are reportedly resisting cooperation. Elliptic researchers alleged that eXch is known for enabling anonymous cryptocurrency swaps, claiming that hundreds of millions in stolen assets have passed through its platform.
So far, analysts trace approximately $75m from the ByBit breach flowing through the controversial exchange. The ongoing conflict between ByBit and recalcitrant exchanges similarly points to a broader struggle in the cryptocurrency space, where rogue actors frequently exploit gaps in security and oversight.
To rally support, ByBit plans to extend its bounty initiative to other victims of the Lazarus Group, using distinctive branding featuring a logo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a knife through it. The Lazarus Group has been linked to approximately $6bn in crypto thefts over recent years, with experts suggesting that the funds are funneled to assist North Korea in evading international sanctions and boosting its military capabilities. North Korea has consistently denied involvement in the cyberattacks associated with the Lazarus Group.
