Ben Zhou, the CEO of the Bybit exchange, reported that 69% of digital assets stolen by North Korean hackers are still traceable. This information was shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where he noted that the perpetrators converted over $1.4 billion into Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This is reported by Finway
According to Zhou, approximately $960 million was converted into over 10,000 BTC using the THORChain platform. Numerous services were utilized for money laundering, including Wasabi, CryptoMixer, Tornado Cash, and Railgun, as well as cross-chain bridges.
Status of Stolen Assets
An overview of the stolen funds revealed that 68.57% remain traceable, 27.59% have gone off the radar, and 3.84% have been frozen. Generally, it is impossible to trace assets that have passed through mixers before reaching P2P and OTC platforms.
“We noticed that the mixer predominantly used by North Korea is Wasabi. After a certain amount of funds was laundered through Wasabi, a small portion ended up in CryptoMixer, Tornado Cash, and Railgun,” said Ben Zhou.
Efforts to Recover Funds
Bybit continues its active fight to recover stolen assets by engaging bounty hunters. Out of more than 5,000 applications, only 70 have been deemed valid. The exchange has already paid out $2.3 million under the program, most of which went to the Mantle platform. Thanks to the efforts of specialists, $42 million has been successfully frozen, which is also subject to recovery.
“We welcome more reports; we need more bounty hunters who can decipher mixers, as we will require significant assistance moving forward,” Zhou added.
Additionally, the eXch project, linked to money laundering, announced its cessation of operations effective May 1, 2025. Reports indicate that hackers laundered over $35 million through this exchange.
It is worth noting that North Korea has entered the top 5 countries by Bitcoin portfolio volume following the Bybit hack.