Bitcoin News Today: 14.5 Billion in Stolen Bitcoin from LuBian Now Largest Crypto Theft

Arkham Intelligence has revealed one of the most significant Bitcoin thefts in history, involving 127,426 BTC stolen from the Chinese mining pool LuBian in late 2020. The initial value of the stolen assets was approximately $3.5 billion, but due to Bitcoin’s substantial price appreciation, the current value is now estimated at $14.5 billion [1]. The breach occurred on December 28, 2020, when over 90% of the pool's BTC holdings were drained before LuBian could move its remaining 11,886 BTC to backup wallets [2]. At the time, LuBian was one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools and claimed to be “the safest high-yield pool in the world.” The company abruptly disappeared in February 2021, with speculation at the time attributing this to government intervention or operational restructuring [3].

Arkham attributes the theft to a vulnerability in LuBian’s private key generation algorithm, which made it susceptible to brute-force attacks [4]. In a desperate attempt to recover the stolen assets, the pool sent 1,516 messages via the OP_RETURN field embedded in Bitcoin transactions, spending 1.4 BTC in the process. One of these messages read, “To the white hat hacker who is saving our assets. Contact us to discuss a return and your reward.” However, there was no response from the suspected hacker [5].

The stolen BTC remains largely untouched, with no evidence of further movement beyond a consolidation of wallets observed in July 2024 [6]. Experts speculate that the hacker may either have been caught or is avoiding moving the funds to evade detection. The scale of the breach now exceeds previously recorded high-profile attacks, including the $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit exchange [7]. Arkham emphasizes that the LuBian case highlights the critical importance of robust security protocols in the cryptocurrency industry, particularly in the generation and storage of private keys. The firm recommends the use of reliable random number generators and multi-layered security systems to prevent similar incidents in the future [8].

The stolen BTC is now among the largest single holdings tracked by Arkham, ranking 13th in the firm’s monitoring. The long-term value of the assets has surpassed even the combined holdings of the Mt. Gox breach, illustrating the compounding impact of cyber attacks in the crypto space [9].

Sources:

[1] (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/08/02/arkham-says-usd3-5b-lubian-bitcoin-theft-went-undetected-for-nearly-five-years)

[2] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-5b-btc-heist-retroactively-uncovered-arkham)

[3] (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arkham-says-3-5b-lubian-210208521.html)

[4] (https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/27807557814329)

[5] (https://bitcoinist.com/arkham-uncovers-bitcoin-heist-largest-theft-history/)

[6] (https://www.ainvest.com/news/bitcoin-news-today-lubian-bitcoin-heist-revealed-5-year-undetected-breach-2508/)

[7] (https://www.coinspeaker.com/arkham-unveiled-the-largest-hack-in-history-now-worth-14-5b/)

[8] (https://cryptobriefing.com/lubian-bitcoin-theft-history/)

[9] (https://web.ourcryptotalk.com/blog/14-5-billion-lubian-bitcoin-heist-exposed-as-largest-crypto-theft-in-history)