Arkham Uncovers 127,426 BTC LuBian Bitcoin Hack
Arkham Intelligence has uncovered the LuBian Bitcoin hack, the largest unreported crypto heist to date. On December 28, 2020, hackers exploited a weak private key generation algorithm at Chinese mining pool LuBian to brute-force wallets and steal 127,426 BTC (about $3.5 billion at the time). Approximately 90% of the pool’s holdings were siphoned off, while 11,886 BTC were secured in recovery wallets. Arkham used blockchain forensics—tracking OP_RETURN messages in 1,516 transactions—to map the on-chain flow and confirm the total theft. Now valued at roughly $14.5 billion, the stolen Bitcoin remains active. This incident underscores the critical need for robust private key management, hardware wallets, multi-signature setups and regular security audits to protect digital assets.
Bearish
The revelation of the LuBian Bitcoin hack highlights a severe security breach and renewed vulnerability concerns. In the short term, traders may react with increased selling pressure on BTC as risk sentiment rises. Although the stolen coins have been static, the news could trigger caution and volatility. Over the long term, demand may stabilize once exchanges and custodians reinforce security protocols, but the immediate impact is likely bearish due to heightened perceived risk.