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Bybit Launches Bounty Program to Combat Lazarus Group’s Stolen Funds
Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has introduced a new bounty program to combat the Lazarus Group’s recent $1.5 billion heist. The program offers a 5% bounty to individuals or platforms that help recover the stolen funds.
How the Bounty Program Works
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced the launch of lazarusbounty.com, a platform that allows anyone to sign in as a bounty hunter using a cryptocurrency wallet. The site features a live ranking of good and bad actors, with their response times recorded publicly.
“You don’t want to end up on the bad actor list. It’s a record of you helping to facilitate sanctioned transactions.”
Bybit’s efforts to combat the Lazarus Group come after the exchange lost over 400,000 Ether, worth nearly $1.5 billion, in a hijacked multi-signature transaction. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified the Lazarus Group as the perpetrator, and Bybit has since covered the losses through loans and strategic partnerships.
Lazarus Group’s Money Laundering Activities
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic noted that the Lazarus Group has initiated phase two of its laundering process, scattering illicit gains across multiple wallets and bridging assets to other blockchains like bitcoin. The group also uses non-KYC services like eXch to anonymize transactions.
Tips for avoiding involvement with the Lazarus Group:
- Be cautious when dealing with non-KYC services
- Verify the legitimacy of transactions and services
- Report suspicious activity to the relevant authorities
Recovery Efforts
Bybit has already recovered $43 million with assistance from Mantle, mETH developers, and SEAL 911, a coalition of white-hat security professionals. Tether also helped freeze $181,000 in stolen funds in its stablecoin USDT.
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