Blockchain analytics agency Arkham has revealed {that a} beforehand unknown hack of Chinese language mining pool LuBian in December 2020 resulted within the theft of 127,426 BTC price round $3.5 billion on the time.
This makes it the most important crypto theft in historical past, Arkham acknowledged, and the haul at the moment can be price a whopping $14.5 billion.
“Neither LuBian nor the hacker has publicly acknowledged the hack,” the agency acknowledged.
BREAKING: ARKHAM UNCOVERS $3.5B HEIST – THE LARGEST EVER
LuBian was a Chinese language mining pool with services in China & Iran. Based mostly on evaluation of on-chain knowledge, it seems that 127,426 BTC was stolen from LuBian in December 2020, price $3.5 billion on the time and now price… pic.twitter.com/PnIOKgMt0i
— Arkham (@arkham) August 2, 2025
Larger than Mt. Gox
The breach went unreported for over 4 years regardless of draining almost all of LuBian’s holdings. The mining pool, which was as soon as top-ten globally with 6% of Bitcoin’s hash charge, mysteriously shut down in early 2021. The closure was beforehand attributed to regulatory stress, however is now understood to be the results of this catastrophic hack.
Arkham reported that the mining pool seems to have been first hacked in December 2020 for over 90% of its BTC. Later that month, round $6 million of further BTC and USDT was stolen from a LuBian tackle energetic on the Bitcoin Omni layer. The miner rotated their remaining funds to restoration wallets on the finish of December 2020.
Arkham believes the theft was enabled by weak non-public key technology, susceptible to brute-force assaults. LuBian made determined makes an attempt to get better the funds, sending over 1,500 small transactions with 1.4 BTC with messages pleading for the return of the funds, however the hacker by no means responded.
LuBian preserved 11,886 BTC, at present price $1.35 billion, which they nonetheless maintain; nevertheless, the hacker additionally nonetheless holds the stolen BTC, with their final identified motion being a pockets consolidation in July 2024.
The large heist makes the LuBian hacker the thirteenth largest Bitcoin holder on Arkham, forward of the Mt. Gox hacker, it acknowledged.
Huge Yr For Crypto Hacks
Cybersecurity agency Certik reported that round $153 million was misplaced, combining all of the exploits and scams in July.
Round $86.6 million was attributed to incidents involving exchanges, whereas $55.4 million was misplaced in incidents associated to code vulnerabilities, it revealed.
#CertiKStatsAlert
Combining all of the incidents in July we’ve confirmed ~$153M misplaced to exploits and scams.
~$86.6M is attributed to incidents involving exchanges.
Incidents associated to code vulnerabilities symbolize ~$55.4M losses.
Extra particulars under pic.twitter.com/1EsEFmZa1f
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) August 2, 2025
In the meantime, Hacken reported that $3.1 billion has been misplaced within the first six months of 2025, and it was DeFi’s “worst quarter since early 2023.”
A surge in social engineering and AI-driven assaults was guilty for the losses, which have already exceeded these in all of 2024, it acknowledged.
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