A 2020 attack on the LuBian mining pool has been identified as the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, with 127,426 Bitcoin stolen through a brute-force attack. At current valuations, the stolen assets are worth approximately $14.5 billion—quadruple their original $3.5 billion value at the time of the theft.
The breach occurred when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in LuBian’s private key generation algorithm. As the sixth-largest Bitcoin mining pool at the time, the platform suffered a systemic security failure that enabled the unauthorized extraction of funds on December 28, 2020.
LuBian utilized OP_RETURN messages embedded in blockchain transactions to trace the stolen Bitcoin. This forensic approach provided critical data to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, facilitating comprehensive mapping of the illicit fund movements and attack methodology.
Prior to this disclosure, a February 2025 security breach at ByBit exchange involving $1.5 billion was regarded as the largest crypto theft incident. The LuBian heist now surpasses the ByBit incident by both absolute value and scale of assets compromised.