LuBian Mining Pool Suffers Massive $14.5B Bitcoin Hack
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham has uncovered what appears to be the largest Bitcoin (BTC) theft ever recorded. The breach involved a staggering 127,426 Bitcoin stolen from China-based mining pool, LuBian.
Silent Attack: The 2020 LuBian Bitcoin Hack
The massive hack, which occurred in 2020, went unnoticed for years. Neither LuBian nor the attacker publicly disclosed the incident until Arkham's recent investigation. Arkham's data indicates that over 90% of LuBian’s BTC holdings were drained rapidly.
On-chain data pinpoints December 28, 2020, as the date of the initial significant breach, with an additional $6 million in Bitcoin disappearing the following day.
At the time of the hack, the stolen Bitcoin was valued at $3.5 billion. With current Bitcoin prices, the loot is now worth over $14.5 billion.
Following the theft, LuBian attempted to communicate with the hacker through Bitcoin's OP_RETURN feature, sending 1.4 BTC across 1,516 messages, pleading for the funds' return and offering a reward.
Root Cause: Weak Private Keys
Arkham's investigation suggests that the exploit resulted from the generation of weak private keys, making LuBian's algorithms susceptible to brute-force attacks. Reports indicate the vulnerability stemmed from the firm's Trust Wallet code, which used 32-bit entropy and had been previously targeted.
Largest Crypto Theft in History
Despite the massive loss, LuBian managed to retain 11,886 BTC, currently valued at approximately $1.35 billion. The hacker now ranks as the 13th largest BTC holder tracked by Arkham, surpassing even the infamous Mt. Gox hacker.
Prior to the LuBian revelation, the largest known crypto theft was the exploit on Bybit, which resulted in over $1.4 billion in ETH being stolen.
Arkham’s data visualization reveals the stolen Bitcoin was moved across hundreds of wallets. The scale and secrecy surrounding this breach have left the crypto community shocked.
In 2020, LuBian was one of the largest mining pools, operating from China and Iran, and controlling nearly 6% of the Bitcoin network's hash rate.