THORChain generated greater than $5 million in complete income after the protocol’s asset swap quantity hit new file highs, pushed by the exploiter behind the $1.4 billion Bybit hack.
Centralized crypto change Bybit was hacked for over $1.4 billion price of crypto on Feb. 21 in the largest hack in crypto history.
The North Korean state-affiliated Lazarus Group, recognized as the principle suspect by blockchain safety corporations, continued laundering the stolen funds, utilizing crosschain asset swap protocol THORChain for a big a part of these transfers.
For the reason that exploit, THORChain has processed greater than $5.4 billion in complete swap quantity, producing roughly $5.5 million in income, according to knowledge from the THORChain explorer.
Complete swap quantity. Supply: THORChain explorer
THORChain’s swap quantity exceeded $1 billion in a single day following the Bybit hack, according to a Feb. 27 report from Cointelegraph. The protocol generated over $554,000 in complete earnings that day alone.
Regardless of the income milestone, THORChain stays underneath scrutiny for its position in facilitating the motion of illicit funds. On Feb. 28, a THORChain developer quit the protocol after a vote to dam North Korean hacker-linked illicit funds was reverted.
“Successfully instantly, I'll not be contributing to THORChain,” the crosschain swap protocol’s core developer, solely referred to as “Pluto,” wrote in a Feb. 27 X submit.
Associated: ADA, SOL, XRP rally after Trump’s crypto reserve announcement
THORChain criticized for permitting stolen funds to movement
“THORChain simply helped North Korea launder $605 million. No KYC, no off swap, no resistance. Lazarus Group jacked Bybit for $1.5 billion in February 2025, then funneled the stolen ETH via THORChain prefer it was constructed for them,” common crypto commentator Yogi wrote in a March 4 X post.
Supply: Yogi
“Different protocols have blocked soiled wallets with out killing decentralization. THORChain had choices—Elliptic, transaction monitoring—however ignored them,” he added.
Associated: Bybit hacker launders $605M ETH, over 50% of stolen funds
On Feb. 26, blockchain analytics agency Elliptic flagged 11,084 cryptocurrency wallet addresses suspected of being linked to the Bybit exploit. That record is anticipated to develop as investigations proceed.
On March 4, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that $280 million of the stolen funds had gone darkish, which means that it has been laundered and is not traceable.
Journal: THORChain founder and his plan to ‘vampire attack’ all of DeFi
