Crypto Community Rallies to Retrieve $1.5 Billion Stolen in Massive Heist

Fri Oct 24 2025 13:10:23 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

**Crypto Community Rallies to Retrieve $1.5 Billion Stolen in Massive Heist**

ByBit recruits online bounty hunters to track down stolen funds after a record-breaking cyber theft.

The world's second-largest crypto exchange, ByBit, suffers a $1.46 billion hack and teams up with crypto sleuths to recover the stolen assets.

In what’s believed to be the largest theft in history, the crypto trading platform ByBit has become a victim of a staggering $1.46 billion hack allegedly carried out by North Korea's infamous Lazarus Group. In response, ByBit's CEO Ben Zhou has launched an online bounty program, inviting digital 'bounty hunters' to help track and recover the stolen cryptocurrency.

To incentivize participation, ByBit is offering cash rewards, stating that individuals who successfully identify or help freeze parts of the stolen funds will receive a 5% bounty. With the money easily traceable via public blockchain, contributors can follow and report on the criminals as they attempt to launder the funds through various transactions.

"We're engaging the community in this fight against Lazarus," Zhou announced alongside a new website featuring a live leaderboard of bounty hunters and their successes. The initiative has already garnered attention, with some successful sleuths reportedly receiving payouts amounting to millions.

While many blockchain investigators are motivated by this chance for rewards, experts warn that the incident could further erode trust in the cryptocurrency sector. “If such an extensive hack can transpire on a major exchange, it raises concerns about security industry-wide," stated Louise Abbott, a crypto fraud expert at Keystone Law.

The lack of central authorities regulating blockchain transactions means victims often have no official recourse for recovery. ByBit relies heavily on cooperation from other crypto exchanges; however, not all companies are willing to help. For instance, eXch, a platform known for enabling anonymous swaps, has reportedly ignored ByBit’s requests for assistance, raising questions about the broader implications for the crypto landscape.

As global authorities attribute the theft to the Lazarus Group—which is said to have pilfered around $6 billion in cryptocurrency to help fund North Korea's military activities—the stakes remain high. ByBit promised to extend its bounty program to other organizations targeted by the hackers in a bid to rally a united front against cybercrime.