Bitcoin News Today: LuBian Mining Pool Hit by $14.5 Billion Bitcoin Heist

A cryptocurrency intelligence platform, Arkham Intelligence, has revealed that 127,426 Bitcoin were stolen in a cyberattack against LuBian, a China-based mining pool, in December 2020 [1]. The breach, initially valued at $3.5 billion, has surged to an estimated $14.5 billion in value due to Bitcoin’s price appreciation over the past four years. This incident now ranks as the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded [2].

The attack went undetected for nearly five years, and the identity of the perpetrator remains unknown. Arkham attributes the breach to vulnerabilities in LuBian’s private key generation algorithms, rather than a brute-force attack, as previously assumed [1]. Over the course of four days in late 2020, the hacker drained nearly 90% of the pool’s BTC holdings, with additional BTC and USDT siphoned from the pool’s Omni Layer address. The remaining assets were transferred to what appear to be recovery wallets [1].

In an attempt to recover the stolen funds, LuBian executed 1,516 OP_RETURN transactions, collectively totaling 1.4 BTC. These efforts suggest the hacker did not immediately liquidate the stolen assets, instead maintaining control and consolidating them in July 2024 [1]. The hacker now holds the 13th largest Bitcoin wallet globally, surpassing even the Mt. Gox theft in relative value [3].

Despite retaining around 11,886 BTC—valued at approximately $1.35 billion—LuBian never publicly disclosed the incident. This lack of transparency has raised concerns about accountability in the cryptocurrency sector, with analysts pointing to potential weaknesses in smart contracts, wallet infrastructure, or third-party services as likely points of exploitation [1]. The unreported nature of the breach has sparked discussions about delayed detection, intentional concealment, or regulatory avoidance.

The incident highlights the vulnerabilities of peripheral systems, including exchanges, wallets, and custodial services, despite Bitcoin’s decentralized security model [1]. The scale of the theft serves as a stark warning to the industry that even large, well-established entities are not immune to cyber threats. Analysts emphasize the need for stronger threat detection, multi-layered authentication, and real-time monitoring to prevent similar incidents in the future [1].

The delayed exposure of the attack also underscores the importance of timely vulnerability reporting and information sharing within the cybersecurity community. Had the breach been identified and disclosed sooner, the hacker’s ability to operate undetected for an extended period may have been curtailed [1].

With the stolen Bitcoin now valued at $14.5 billion, the LuBian breach has broader implications beyond financial loss. It could undermine public trust in cryptocurrencies and prompt regulators to implement stricter oversight, potentially shifting the industry’s decentralized trajectory [1]. As the market continues to evolve, users are being advised to adopt secure storage practices, such as hardware wallets and cold storage, to minimize exposure to cyber risks.

Source:

[1] BREAKING: The Largest Bitcoin Hack Ever, Unreported to the Public, Has Been Revealed – Unbelievable Figures Are Being Discussed, by Mete Demiralp, July 18, 2025. https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/688e6f63db321a7286e31322/

[2] Bitcoin News Today: LuBian Hit by $14.5 Billion ... https://www.ainvest.com/news/bitcoin-news-today-lubian-hit-14-5-billion-bitcoin-heist-2020-2508/

[3] Biggest Crypto Hack Ever: $14 Billion Bitcoin Theft Revealed https://beincrypto.com/biggest-crypto-hack-ever-chinese-bitcoin-mining-pool/