Arkham Says $3.5B LuBian Bitcoin Theft Went Undetected for Nearly Five Years

Key Points

1. Arkham uncovered evidence that 127,426 BTC (worth $3.5 billion at the time) was stolen from LuBian Mining Pool in late December 2020.

2. The theft was never publicly acknowledged by LuBian or the suspected hacker, making Arkham the first to report the incident.

3. The hack, if confirmed, would surpass the scale of other high-profile exploits like Mt. Gox and Bitfinex by nominal value at the time of loss.

4. Arkham's analysis indicates that over 90% of LuBian’s BTC holdings were drained on Dec. 28, 2020, followed by another theft two days later involving $6 million worth of BTC and USDT.

5. The stolen BTC is now estimated to be worth $14.5 billion, making the hacker's wallet the 13th largest BTC holder tracked by Arkham.