The Lazarus Group hackers responsible for the $1.5 billion theft from Bybit have been exposed for attempting to launder their stolen funds via Solana’s PumpFun platform. Crypto analyst Atlas revealed in a February 23 tweet that the hackers initially transferred 60 SOL to an anonymous wallet and launched a memecoin called QinShihuang (#500000) to obscure their tracks.
The hackers used a combination of trading and wash trading to create over $42 million in artificial trading volume, complicating the traceability of the stolen assets. In an effort to further conceal their actions, they attracted real traders to the memecoin, blending legitimate transactions with illicit funds.
Atlas reported that the hackers generated hype around the token, enticing traders with the promise of quick profits. Once a substantial amount of funds had been moved, the hackers distributed the assets across multiple wallets and employed cross-chain bridges to transfer them between blockchains, making it even harder to track the illicit funds.
Blockchain investigator Zachxbt later exposed the laundering operation, linking the fund movements to the PumpFun exploit. This case underscores the ongoing challenges within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Atlas warned that hackers would continue exploiting open systems, urging DeFi platforms to enhance their monitoring tools to detect suspicious activities.
“If you don’t recognize these schemes, you might unknowingly trade on exploited liquidity or hold worthless scam tokens,” Atlas cautioned.
Despite the breach, Bybit assured its users that all funds remain fully backed, with withdrawals and trading still operational. In response, the exchange launched LazarusBounty.com, a platform designed to track and halt the activities of the Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization tied to North Korea. The site offers rewards to bounty hunters who help identify and freeze stolen cryptocurrency.
“We are committed to this mission and will continue to update the platform as we work to eliminate Lazarus and other malicious actors in the industry. In the future, we plan to expand the platform to assist other victims of Lazarus,” said Bybit CEO Ben Zhou.
Related topics:
AVAX Price Struggles as Whale Activity Slows
Crypto Trader Naseem Makes $100 Million Profit from Trump Coin Amid Controversy
Saylor’s MicroStrategy Plans $2B Raise to Expand Bitcoin Holdings
