🚨 Crypto Crisis: LuBian Mining Pool Drained of 127,426 BTC in Historic Heist

Bitcoin's 'unhackable' myth takes a hit as attackers pull off the biggest digital heist since Mt. Gox.

The breach that shook crypto

LuBian—one of Bitcoin's largest mining operations—just got cleaned out. The 127,426 BTC haul (worth roughly $8.5B at press time) marks the most audacious crypto theft in years. Cold wallets? Hot wallets? Doesn't matter when the attackers bypassed everything.

Market tremors ahead?

While Bitcoin's price barely flinched—because let's face it, Wall Street loses more in coffee spills—the exploit exposes mining pools' systemic vulnerabilities. Remember when 'not your keys, not your coins' was just a meme? Today it's a $8.5B reality check.

The silver lining?

Every hack makes the ecosystem tougher. After this, even your grandma's hardware wallet will demand iris scans. The blockchain giveth, the blockchain taketh away—but it always learns.

$113,571 losses in history. Arkham’s analysis suggests that 127,426 BTC were stolen from the LuBian Mining Pool in the last days of 2020. This incident was publicly disclosed for the first time by Arkham.

ContentsDetails of the Incident and Analytical FindingsCommunication Attempts and Potential Security FlawsCurrent Status of the Assets and Implications

Details of the Incident and Analytical Findings

In 2020, LuBian Mining Pool was recognized as one of the largest mining pools globally, reportedly controlling about 6% of the total processing power on the Bitcoin network. Arkham’s data reflects that over 90% of the Bitcoin on the platform was transferred in a single transaction on December 28, 2020.

Two days post this occurrence, approximately 6 million dollars worth of BTC and Tether (USDT) from another LuBian address were also transferred. Following these incidents, LuBian management potentially moved the remaining 11,886 BTC to various wallets to safeguard them.

Neither LuBian management nor the perpetrators of the breach have made any official statements regarding the issue. Arkham was the first to make a public announcement about the event. The analysis revealed that requests were transmitted to the attackers from the related wallet.

Communication Attempts and Potential Security Flaws

Arkham’s analysis of blockchain records identified the use of a special message communication method called “OP_RETURN” by LuBian managers. By expending 1.4 BTC, over 1500 messages were sent through the bitcoin network to reach out to the attackers, demanding the return of the BTC.

Arkham stated, “LuBian mining pool transmitted hundreds of on-chain messages imploring attackers for restitution. We believe these messages were sent by the rightful wallet owner.”

Technically, LuBian’s use of a weak private key generation algorithm is speculated to be a potential reason for the vulnerability, rendering it susceptible to external attacks.

Most of the stolen Bitcoins have since remained stagnant in wallets. The last significant transfer recorded was in July 2024, aimed at consolidation.

Current Status of the Assets and Implications

Comparing the price of Bitcoin in 2020 to present rates, the stolen BTCs are now worth approximately 14.5 billion dollars. This value suggests that the wallet transferred from LuBian is currently the 13th largest Bitcoin holder according to Arkham’s data.

The incident surpasses other notable digital asset losses, such as the infamous Mt. Gox case. Nevertheless, neither the LuBian administration nor the attackers have engaged in any transactions involving the assets in the wallets to date. Arkham continues to monitor both the addresses and asset movements, although no identities have been disclosed.

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