Bybit hacker split $1.4b loot into over 40 wallets: Nansen

The scale of the staggering $1.4 billion hack on crypto exchange Bybit will undoubtedly unfold in coming days and weeks.

However, as Bybit, industry players such as other exchanges and blockchain sleuths work out on unmasking the hacker, on-chain data shows the perpetrator immediately got busy trying to move their Ethereum (ETH) loot.

What did the Bybit hacker steal?

According to Nansen, a multi-chain artificial intelligence analytics platform, the total amount stolen in the heist stood at $1.44 billion at the time of the breach. 

The on-chain trail of the funds showed the hacker drained Bybit’s wallet of 401,347 ETH worth about $1.12 billion and another $320 million in staked ETH tokens.

It includes 90,376 Lido staked ETH (stETH) worth $253.16 million and 15,000 Mantle restaked ETH (cmETH) worth $44.13 million. The attacker also made away with 8,000 Mantle staked ETH (mETH) worth $23 million.

Funds sent to over 40 wallets

The hacker’s main wallet, according to on-chain data shared by Nansen, was 0x47666fab8bd0ac7003bce3f5c3585383f09486e2. After executing the deception that tricked Bybit multisig signers, the hacker immediately started moving the stolen funds.

First, the hacker or hackers converted the stETH, cmETH, and mETH tokens to Ether, then offloaded these in chunks of $27 million. Funds from the primary wallet used in the attack were split across more than 40 wallets. 

Most of these wallets still hold the distributed ETH.

How has crypto reacted to the Bybit hack?

The crypto market has reacted to the hack negatively, with the total market cap dipping more than 4% as most altcoins slipped. Although the declines are minor compared to recent downturns, Ethereum is down more than 4%. 

Bitcoin is also down nearly 3%, with the two trading around $95,500 for BTC and $2,630 for ETH. Further clarity on how markets react to the incident will likely follow what happens next. 

However, some analysts opine that with the hacker unlikely to cash out via stablecoins – which Tether or Circle can freeze – the hack may have just taken a $1.4 billion worth of selling pressure off ETH.