Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Stolen in 2020 LuBian Heist Surpasses $14.5 Billion in Value

A massive Bitcoin theft from the Chinese-based LuBian mining pool in late December 2020—initially valued at $3.5 billion—has now grown to an estimated $14.5 billion in value, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence [1]. The stolen amount equates to 127,426 BTC, which was siphoned from LuBian’s reserves in a single major withdrawal on December 28, 2020, with a follow-up $6 million in BTC and USDT taken from a related address two days later [1]. The mining pool, which at the time held nearly 6% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate, disappeared from public operations in February 2021.

Arkham’s investigation attributes the breach to weak private key generation, potentially stemming from flawed algorithms vulnerable to brute-force attacks [1]. A related report notes that the Trust Wallet code using 32-bit entropy may have been a factor, a vulnerability previously exploited in large-scale wallet compromises. Additionally, on-chain evidence shows LuBian used Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature to send over 1,500 messages to the suspected hacker, spending 1.4 BTC in the process as part of a recovery effort [1]. These messages, according to Arkham, appear to have originated from the legitimate wallet owner.

Despite these efforts, the majority of the stolen BTC has remained largely untouched over the past four years, with the last major movement occurring in July 2024 during a wallet consolidation [1]. The hacker’s address is now ranked as the 13th largest Bitcoin holder, surpassing some wallets linked to the Mt. Gox breach. The funds’ prolonged dormancy has allowed their value to grow significantly due to Bitcoin’s price appreciation, though no restitution or legal action has been publicly reported [1].

The incident highlights the vulnerabilities in early mining pool infrastructure, particularly in private key management and operational security [1]. The breach reportedly went undetected for nearly five years, raising questions about internal monitoring and transparency. While LuBian has not made any public statements about the theft, Arkham has published wallet trackers for both the hacker and the mining pool, though identities remain unknown.

The growing role of blockchain analytics firms in uncovering such large-scale thefts is evident in this case, demonstrating the increasing utility of on-chain data in tracking illicit activity [1]. As Bitcoin continues to appreciate, the financial impact of historical thefts becomes even more pronounced, further emphasizing the need for robust security and transparency in the cryptocurrency ecosystem [1].

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Source:

[1] Arkham: LuBian's $3.5B 2020 Bitcoin Hack Now Worth $14.5B

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