Catenaa, Tuesday, August 05, 2025- Arkham Intelligence confirmed the largest Bitcoin theft ever, tracing a 2020 hack that stole 127,426 BTC from Chinese mining pool LuBian.
Arkham’s report said the attack exploited vulnerabilities in LuBian’s private key system, allowing hackers to siphon more than 90% of its holdings in a single day.
The following day, $6 million in BTC and USDT linked to LuBian addresses was also taken.
The incident explains LuBian’s sudden disappearance in early 2021, which fueled speculation of a regulatory shutdown or internal exit.
Arkham’s findings indicate the mining pool instead fell victim to a catastrophic breach.
In a bid to recover the funds, LuBian attempted to contact the attacker using Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature, offering a reward for returning the stolen coins. No response has been confirmed.
Of the original holdings, 11,886 BTC, valued at roughly $1.35 billion, remains untouched. None of the stolen Bitcoin has moved since July 2024, suggesting the assets are dormant or tightly controlled.
The revelation comes amid a surge in crypto thefts. CertiK reported that investors lost $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, including Bybit’s $1.5 billion February hack and Cetus Protocol’s $225 million exploit.
Security experts urge users to rely on hardware wallets and verify links as phishing attacks and key compromises escalate.
