Bitcoin News Today: LuBian Bitcoin Heist Surpasses $14.5 Billion as Biggest Crypto Theft

Arkham Intelligence has revealed a massive theft of 127,426 Bitcoin (BTC) from the Chinese mining pool LuBian in December 2020. The breach, only made public in August 2025, is now valued at $14.5 billion and is considered the largest in cryptocurrency history by dollar value [1]. The stolen funds have largely remained dormant, with no significant movement detected, and the Bitcoin market has shown no major disruption in response to the revelation [1].

The security flaw, according to Arkham, stemmed from LuBian's use of an algorithm for generating private keys that was vulnerable to brute-force attacks [1]. This highlights a critical weakness in the operational security practices of key infrastructure providers in the crypto space. Despite the severity of the theft, neither LuBian’s leadership nor any regulatory bodies have issued public statements or comments on the matter [1].

LuBian has reportedly managed to recover 11,886 BTC, valued at approximately $1.35 billion. However, no comprehensive recovery plan has been disclosed. Efforts to recover the remaining funds have included the use of OP_RETURN messages—blockchain-based pleas for the return of stolen assets—though these have not yielded a response from the community or developers in primary communication channels [1].

The incident surpasses the 2014 Mt. Gox hack in terms of financial impact and underscores the potential for increased regulatory scrutiny in the cryptocurrency industry. It also serves as a cautionary tale for crypto firms on the importance of robust security protocols, particularly in the generation and protection of cryptographic keys [1]. Despite the scale of the theft, the long-term stability of the Bitcoin ecosystem appears to have remained intact, as the stolen assets have not entered circulation.

Arkham Intelligence’s role in identifying and tracking the stolen funds highlights the growing importance of blockchain analytics in detecting and responding to cybercrimes in the digital asset space. As the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continues to rise, the consequences of security lapses in the infrastructure layer become increasingly severe [1].

Source: [1] Massive Bitcoin Heist from LuBian Unveiled (https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/688ef4fb2fb07274aea4eab6/)