$3.5 billion Bitcoin hack from 2020 surpasses Mt. Gox in value, now worth $14.5 billion
A groundbreaking discovery has recently brought to light the largest Bitcoin heist ever uncovered, with 127,426 Bitcoins being stolen from the Chinese mining pool LuBian in 2020. This heist, valued at $3.5 billion at the time and now worth $14.5 billion, dwarfs the infamous Mt. Gox incidents in its magnitude. LuBian, once the 6th-largest mining pool on the Bitcoin network by the beginning of 2020, controlled a significant 6% of the network’s hash-rate capacity on its own, portraying itself as the safest and most lucrative mining pool before its abrupt disappearance in 2021.
The attack on LuBian was meticulously planned, with the hacker breaking into the pool’s private key generation through brute-force attacks on its weak 32-bit entropy system. This vulnerability allowed even an average gaming computer to exploit LuBian’s wallets successfully. Over the course of three days, primarily on December 28th, 2020, the hacker managed to steal over 90% of LuBian’s Bitcoin supply, followed by additional attacks securing more than $6 million worth of Bitcoin and USDT the next day. As LuBian moved its remaining assets to recovery wallets on December 31st, the hacker remains in control of the colossal sum of cryptocurrency stolen from the pool.
Reports from Arkham Intelligence suggest that the hacker consolidated their wallets in July 2024, holding onto the 11,886 Bitcoins retained by LuBian post-attack while also hoarding the entirety of the stolen cryptocurrency. This newfound wealth propelled them to the position of the 13th-largest Bitcoin holder globally, making the LuBian hack the largest known crypto heist in history. Although the 2014 Mt. Gox breaches involved a higher number of stolen Bitcoins, the lower value of the cryptocurrency then meant that LuBian’s $3.5 billion heist, now valued at $14.5 billion, surpasses the Mt. Gox incidents in profitability, marking a significant milestone in the cryptocurrency world.
Today, the relevance of this historic Bitcoin heist points to the ongoing vulnerability of digital assets in the face of cyber threats and the importance of robust security measures within the cryptocurrency industry. The ripple effect of this event underscores the critical need for heightened security protocols and vigilance to safeguard digital assets against increasingly sophisticated cybercriminal activities. As cryptocurrencies continue to gain traction in mainstream finance, the need for effective security procedures becomes paramount to protect investors and stakeholders in this rapidly evolving landscape.
