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US$14.5B Bitcoin Heist Uncovered: Largest Crypto Theft in History Linked to Vanished Chinese Mining Pool
- Arkham Intelligence uncovered a 2020 hack that drained 127,426 BTC from LuBian Mining Pool that would now be worth US$14.5B.
- The attack exploited a flawed private key generation method, allowing hackers to access over 90% of the mining pool’s holdings.
- LuBian attempted to contact the thief using blockchain messages, but the funds have remained inactive since a 2024 wallet consolidation.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has uncovered what is believed to be the largest crypto theft ever recorded. Chinese Bitcoin mining operation LuBian Mining Pool lost 127,426 BTC, now valued at nearly US$14.5 billion (AU$22.39 billion), in a previously undisclosed cyber attack in December 2020.
At the time of the hack, Bitcoin was trading around US$27,000 (AU$41,733), placing the loss at about US$3.5 billion (AU$5.41 billion). While Mt. Gox lost more BTC in volume, the value of the LuBian theft makes it the most significant in dollar terms.
Related: Mt. Gox Moves 139,000 BTC, Analyst Says FUD is Overestimated
LuBian’s Rise and Fall
LuBian emerged in April 2020, quickly becoming one of the world’s leading mining pools and controlling nearly 6% of the Bitcoin network’s hash rate within a month. Despite being described on its website as “the safest high yielding mining pool in the world,” the company disappeared from the public eye by February 2021.
Arkham’s analysis shows that over 90% of LuBian’s reserves were drained on 28 December 2020, followed two days later by the loss of an additional US$6 million (AU$9.26 million) in BTC and USDT from another LuBian-linked address. The remaining 11,886 BTC, worth around US$1.35 billion (AU$2.08 billion), was reportedly moved to recovery wallets by 31 December.
Arkham believes the breach was due to LuBian using a flawed private key generation method vulnerable to brute-force attacks. Neither LuBian nor the hacker has acknowledged the theft publicly.
In the months following the hack, LuBian embedded blockchain messages using Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN field to reach the perpetrator, requesting the return of funds and offering a reward. Despite these efforts, no reply was received.
The stolen BTC remains unmoved, with the last transaction being a wallet consolidation in July 2024. Arkham’s data places the hacker’s wallet as the 13th largest BTC holder currently tracked.
Related: US Secret Service Becomes Major Crypto Custodian After US$400M Seizure
Author
Rachel Lourdesamy
Rachel is a freelance writer based in Sydney with experience within financial services, marketing, and corporate communications in the APAC region. An avid reader and a graduate of the University of Sydney, she covers topics including business, finance and human interest.
